


Enchanted

by DaniiC



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-23 17:44:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14337735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniiC/pseuds/DaniiC
Summary: He'd always been aware of her. Always seemed to watch her. Always wanted her. She never seemed to notice. So when he got the chance to claim her he did, but he hadn't been prepared for all that that would involve. With tensions rising on all sides, Draco is forced to make a choice, but it was a choice he'd never been prepared to make.





	1. Interest

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: It's a new fic :)
> 
> As always, I own only my original ideas. Enjoy! All reviews are greatly appreciated.

Something had always fascinated him about her, Katrina Zabini. She always stood as the polar opposite to her twin. Quiet where he was loud, pensive where he was quick to anger and guarded where he was open. He remembered their first year. Blaise had been quick to strike up friends with all those around him, his loud eager chatter seemingly putting others at ease. The boy had even befriended him, overeager as they both were to be beginning their formal magical education. He'd been there when Potter had rejected him, Blaise taunted the other boy cruelly in response. She'd stood by her brother, nothing betraying her emotions and he had been fascinated. His fascination had only increased when, upon their return to their train car, she had unleashed her quiet fury on her brother, much to the elder twin's displeasure.

Over the years Draco continued to watch her. She'd never seemed interested in popularity like Pansy or Daphne, for the most part, keeping to a small group of friends and her brother. And while it was undeniable that she was brilliant, she had seemed not to care that others knew, unlike the insufferable Granger girl. He had only ever seen her laughing in public a handful of times, her face usually a cool mask of indifference when in view of others she had no interest in.

He watched her now, in the Slytherin Commons, the warm glow of the fire bringing her dark skin alive as she listened somewhat attentively to a story her brother was telling the room. His face was animated, arms gesturing wildly, everyone in the room was enraptured in the tale Blaise weaved about quidditch. Her nose crinkled in disgust as her brother made some lewd gesture to Nott, the other boy snickering in response.

If he was being honest with himself she didn't just fascinate him. She enthralled him. There was something about her that he wanted to touch, to hold, to revel in. Over the years she never really seemed to date anyone, not that a few hadn't tried. Blaise simply wasn't someone you trifled with. He could still remember how Blaise had broken Adrian Pucey's hand in 4th Year when he'd caught wind that the older boy was claiming that he'd slept with her after what was apparently, only an innocent kiss. That he'd 'Fucked her right good in the commons.'

He shuddered internally when he remembered the chilling way Blaise had looked at Pucey. He didn't have a doubt that the boy would have done much worse if she hadn't intervened, stepping between the two and shoving her brother gently to get his attention. His eyes had snapped to her furiously, and though she was a few inches shorter than the tall boy she held her ground.

"Pucey is not worth it," she said simply, as if it was simply beneath Blaise to consider the older boy's words.

"He called you a whore, said that, that -" the boy shuddered in rage, not being able to put into words his feelings.

By then a small crowd had gathered around the three, Pucey on the floor howling in pain the twins staring each other down.

"Fuck you Zabini, she's a worthless bitch," Pucey ground out.

She'd spun around quickly, magical energy snapping around her cloud of coily curls. She was a thunderstorm.

She never said anything, didn't mutter any hex or curse but there was no doubt, as her wand snapped quickly towards Pucey's body, boils covering every inch of the boy's, that she'd had enough.

"It would do you well Pucey," she said cooly, her tone not betraying her rage while her onyx eyes glinted dangerously, "to respect your betters."

Pucey had screamed in pain before quickly passing out.

As if sensing the dangerous climate in the room their housemaster had swept in.

"And just what, might I ask, do you two think you are doing?" Snape drawled, watching the pair before him.

He knew the older man had a soft spot for Katrina. Everyone knew, but it was clear to all that Snape still attempted to at least appear impartial.

She turned from Pucey now, addressing the housemaster directly.

"I was stopping Blaise from killing Pucey," she said. As though it was the plainest thing in the world.

"Hmm." Snape intoned.

"Be that as it may Ms Zabini, you will refrain from hexing your housemates."

Her eyes never wavered, posture never shifted, she never bowed to his will but a small smile twitched her plump lips upward ever so slightly.

"Yes Professor."

"Hmm. Mr Flint, bring Mr Pucey with me to the infirmary, will you. Ms Zabini, do attempt to stay out of trouble."

With that Snape had left the room, Marcus Flint levitating the limp body of his bumpy friend sullenly behind the Professor.

He remembered when Pucey had made an appearance again. Most of the boils had been removed and his broken arm had been mended but a few choice ones had remained which ever so often would cause Katrina's eyes to light up with barely contained amusement.

Then there had been Terence Higgs. He sneered at the memory. Higgs had been the exception. Higgs started hanging around her more often, she and the two girls she was close to seemingly unperturbed by his presence. Then one day, sometime in their fifth year, as their class had filed out of Potions, Higgs had been there, the older boy leaning up against the wall by the classroom door. Higgs had grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to his chest, smirking before kissing her.

Draco had never been more angry, never so filled with blind rage. Never more acutely aware of how much she affected him.

Their romance if you could call it that, primarily consisted of Higgs kissing her any time he could get his hands on her. In the halls, at breakfast in the commons. Until one day, curiously enough Higgs and Daphne Greengrass had appeared in the commons with matching grotesque horns from their heads. No one saw Katrina with him again after that.

He refocused his attention on her now. Her head thrown back in laughter, her brother and her clearly sharing a moment as the two cackled.

"Honestly Blaise, you're such an ass."

Her eyes danced with mirth, a barely perceptible flush blooming on her dark cheeks.

"I live to please." He said making a dramatic bow.

She shook her head at him then, her usual cloud of curls bouncing around her.

"Tell them about what happened at dinner tonight Blaise."

It was Theodore that had egged him on. Unable to resist, the dark-skinned boy launched into another tale.

Draco's attention never left her. He watched as she withdrew into herself again, before suddenly standing and quietly exiting the commons, without the attention of anyone. Anyone but him.

He waited a full two minutes before following her, keeping to the shadows and slowly creeping behind her. She showed no indication that she knew that he was there and for that he was glad.

He was surprised when finally they came to the Astronomy Tower. He paused by the shadow of the door when she simply sat on the balcony, dangling her feet off the edge, her head propped up by her hands on the rail. She was beautiful and he was transfixed.

"You should join me Draco."

He almost jumped out of his skin at her invitation. He regarded her carefully as she made no move to face him, stepping into the light and slowly ascending the stairs. He didn't know what to say as he stood near the centre of the room watching her back. He'd never been in a situation alone with her and in the face of his recent musings, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to be at the moment.

"I'm afraid of falling," her voice was quiet. And deep, he realised for the first time.

"Why should you be afraid of such a thing? You're a witch." He'd said it before he'd realised that he was saying it, but, considering it now, he found it fair enough assessment.

She laughed then, turning her head to look back at him, the sound caused his heart to beat wildly in his chest.

"We all have fears Draco. I am no more in control of mine than you of yours."

He regarded her more seriously then, as she'd turned back to look over the grounds.

"I suppose not. But falling seems particularly pedestrian."

She laughed again. He'd never heard her laugh so much, never been in the presence of her joy so often.

"I suppose it is," she said quietly, "but there's something about the weightlessness of it, the lack of control it-"

She unfolded herself from around the railing now, returning to her full height. Facing him properly she tilted her head slightly.

"It's like a cold hand crawls up from the base of my spine and squeezes my heart. It's like I can't breathe and in that moment - falling - there is no amount of magic I can conjure to save me.

He stared at her plainly, silver eyes meeting black. He was acutely aware of that feeling. Had felt it several times in his life. He knew what she meant. That it defied logic, it defied reason and despite ability, despite logic. Fear still gripped you.

He didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to tell her his fears. Tell her that he understood. That he too fell prey to emotions that betrayed his magical ability and so he said nothing.

She smiled then, watching him fight with himself.

She shortened the distance between them, standing less than a foot away from him. She tilted her head up slightly, her tall frame leaving little difference in their heights.

"What do you fear Draco Malfoy? What pedestrian things still your heart?"

His heart hammered in his chest as he watched her. She was too close. He couldn't think straight with her dark eyes looking up at him, their depths sparkling with mirth.

"Nothing."

"Is that so?"

She took a step back and he cursed himself for not saying something else, anything else.

He watched as the mask of indifference seemed to slide back over her features although the mirth didn't quite fade from her eyes. He felt his heart squeeze when he realised any moment they had been sharing had practically evaporated.

She turned then to leave the room.

Pausing at the door she looked over her shoulder at the immobile blond boy behind her.

"I wish I too could be fearless."

And then she was gone.


	2. Closer

All the next day he'd been preoccupied mulling over her question. 'What do you fear Draco Malfoy? What pedestrian things still your heart?' He knew what he feared, knew what chilled him to his core. Stole the breath from his lungs. But it was anything but pedestrian. Her question had him questioning himself. Was there anything that merely scared him? He didn't think so, no. He frowned at the thought.

Katrina had been watching him intently since he'd deigned it appropriate to leave his dormitory that morning. She didn't pretend to look away, didn't try to catch his eye. She did not glance coquettishly at him. She watched him. Watched as he seemed to puzzle over something, a small frown on his face. She wondered if her question had really been that difficult. Or was it not related to her at all.

"You know Katrina," her brother drawled from his place beside the pale boy, "if you don't stop staring at Malfoy someone may think you like him."

Draco was drawn out of his thoughts at the mention of his name, his eyes snapped immediately to her face where he, found, that she was still watching him. He cleared his throat at the realisation, looking to the smirking fool beside him.

"Zabini-"

"Yes." They answered in unison

Blaise's smirk widened into a broad grin when he saw the smallest twitch of discomfort from Draco.

"Is something the matter Draco?" she asked, all the while watching his face.

He cleared his throat again, refocusing his attention on Katrina. If he didn't know better he'd have thought that there was a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"No, nothing."

"You seem to just be a fountain of information." She quipped, looking back at him under her long eyelashes.

He felt heat rise to his cheeks and prayed to Merlin that no one would notice the slightly pink tinge to his cheeks. But if the smug smile on her face was anything to go by, his prayers had not been answered.

He stiffened when Blaise clapped a hand on his back. "Don't let her pick on you Draco."

For his part Draco ignored him. For the first time that morning his focus was on the person who'd had him thinking as opposed to the things she's said to him the previous night. She seemed to have taken some small measure of joy from making him squirm as the smile never fully slid from her face as she engaged her brother in conversation. He thought she had fully lost interest in whatever it was that had drawn her attention to him that morning when he saw her eyes leave her brother completely and settled on him for what felt like hours.

Her stare was bold and unabashed and from his place, at the table, he could see that her eyes weren't the pitch black depths he'd thought them to be. No, under permanently hooded lids her eyes were a dark brown, much darker than her brother's, Draco noted.

He noticed her appraisal of him, her eyes taking their time to take run over him. From head to chest and back again before once again settling on grey eyes.

Silently, without so much as a word to him or her brother she rose from the table, her two permanent companions rising with her. He watched her until she disappeared from the hall, noting how, not for the first time, she appeared to tower over the others.

If Blaise had noticed his attention on his sister he never showed any indication.

It was during their Defense Against the Dark Arts class that Draco had decided that she was toying with him.

The class had been divided into pairs. Each to work as a team to disarm another pair. It was never called into question that Katrina and Blaise would be paired together but Draco had been paired with Granger and the four of them lumped together. He'd sneered at the Gryffindor when she brought her things over to where he sat with a huff. She was not alone in her frustration.

Katrina sat whispering conspiratorially with her brother. Well, Blaise was the one whispering and gesturing towards the odd pair while Katrina idly nodded or smirked in response, all the while eyes focused on the front. Draco had been stealing glances at her all day. First in their Transfiguration class and now in DADA as well. He'd never had to fight himself so hard to keep his eyes off of her. Over the years, despite his fascination, he'd had some level of distance between them and while he'd generally say that he had observed her over the years he'd never actually watched her. Not really. Not until now.

He shook his head as though the action would clear his thoughts, running pale fingers through his fine platinum hair. Beside him, Granger was yammering on about which spells she thought would be prudent to remember and questioning him on his wand movement. He'd looked at her then, the insufferable know-it-all, lips curled back in a sneer that threatened to become a snarl. He'd been in the middle of giving Granger a piece of his mind when Katrina's eyes, for the briefest of moments, had slid to him. He'd never noticed.

Professor Snape drew his attention away from the dressing down he was giving Granger to explain the rules of the exercise. They were to use spells that would be reasonably easy to deflect, nothing that would cause loss of life nor limb and lastly the quartet was to work together until the end of the class, hopefully ensuring that each person had worked with every member of the group.

At that Draco had looked at the twins and smirked, at least he wouldn't be alone in dealing with the overbearing girl.

The room separated into its groups, the tables and chairs being assembled along the walls of the room to ensure them space to move freely.

"You may begin as soon as you are ready. Remember that the rules of wizarding duels do apply."

Draco sized up Blaise, the two boys facing each other. The other boy and himself were of about the same height although Blaise was a bit more muscular where he was lean. Bowing lowly to each other they assumed their stances, his wand pointing at Blaise while Granger's pointed at Katrina. He and Granger had unleashed their spells with near perfect synchronicity, he realized grudgingly. What he had not been prepared for was the stinging hex that came hurtling into his chest from Blaise's right. His eyes snapped to her smirking face quickly.

"You'll have to do better than that Malfoy."

He hated the way it sounded coming from her lips. Hated how it seemed so impersonal. Something he'd never been bothered by previously. It wasn't like how she seemed to purr Draco.

The four exchanged spells for a bit and it quickly dawned on Draco just how brilliant and underhanded Katrina was. While he and Granger were not dimwits by any stretch, the two had struggled quite a bit to keep up with the twins as they launched non-verbal spells quicker than he thought possible. Something else they seemed to be employing was teamwork he'd never attempt to get from Granger. The two didn't strictly defend themselves as he and Granger did but instead defended each other and attacked both of their opponents.

A furious scream could be heard to his right. Caught off guard he'd looked to see what the muggle-born witch could possibly be bellowing about to find himself disarmed as well. It seemed like Katrina had disarmed Granger and the Gryffindor was none too pleased to have been bested by the Slytherins. Granger had scrambled to pick her wand up from the floor before retreating to a seat that now lined the walls. No doubt the weak girl would need rest. How pathetic.

Looking back to the dark pair before him he watched not even slightly amused as Katrina twisted it between her fingers. Her hair had seemed to grow larger from her efforts in the duel and now she stood before him, a thunderstorm once more, energy seeming to radiate from her body.

She'd tossed it back to him after catching his eye.

"So, Malfoy, ready to be my partner?"

He stiffened a bit at her use of his last name again. Walking over to her he watched as she watched him. She was clearly amused, a rear public grin transforming her features. He stood a mere foot from her now, actively trying to mimic their closeness from last night. Looking down his nose at her he tried to appear imposing, tried to swell himself up with a combination of ego and reputation.

"The real question is Zabini," his words were drawled and deliberate "are you ready to be mine?"

She tilted her head to the side then, regarding him, features growing serious once more although her eyes danced with mirth. She'd taken another step closer to him then, her body was tantalizingly close to his, he could practically feel the energy radiating from her, causing goosebumps to cover his arms and chest.

"That's not something you could ever be prepared for."

Before he could respond she had backed away and turned to face the unlikely pair of Blaise and Granger. Blaise's face was contorted into anger, wand clenched at his side, eyes boring holes through Draco's head. Turning to face his longtime friend he realised that he was going to be in for the fight of his life.

The duel with Blaise had been quick but punishing. In his anger the boy had gotten sloppy, he yelled his attacks and resorted to more dangerous spells, though none that would leave him an amputee. Just very uncomfortable. He grimaced at the thought of the hex the boy had sent towards his crotch. Soon thereafter Draco had been able to take the upper hand and disarm his friend while Katrina once again had embarrassed Granger.

Until finally it was Draco and Blaise against Katrina and Granger. He was positive that they could beat the two witches, neither seeming particularly fond of the other. Whatever funk Blaise had worked himself into he'd seemed to get out of by the time they were ready for their last brawl.

The twins stood directly across from each other, leaving Draco and Granger to apparently be rivals. But they'd made a dire miscalculation. The boys had decided that they would work much like the twins had and would focus on getting Granger out first so that they could make quick work of Katrina. What neither of them had been counting on was Katrina sacrificing Granger. She'd had ample time to throw up a protection charm against the two boys but had merely watched as their united shouts of 'Expelliarmus' had culminated in a strong scarlet light hitting the smaller girl in the chest, her wand clattering to the floor and throwing her back a few feet. So when she hadn't done what they thought she would do they were more than a little shocked when Blaise's wand went flying from his hand as his sister disarmed him wordlessly.

Now it was just the two of them. And he made the error of misjudging her again. He'd shot a somewhat harmless stinging hex towards her chest but she didn't put up a protection charm as he had thought. She had anticipated his movements, had waited patiently for him to be mid cast before she'd pivoted to the left, dodging the spell entirely to send him flying back with a disarming charm of her own.

"20 points to Slytherin," Snape said coolly, eyeing Katrina with approval, his head dipping in an almost imperceptible nod that was returned just as discreetly.

Draco looked around then to see that the rest of the class had been watching the duel. He'd noted that Potter and the Weasel had seemed particularly pleased at his defeat as they coddled Granger who was once again sat against the wall.

From his place on the floor, he watched as Katrina packed her things quickly and left with her brother by her side without so much as a glance back.

When Draco returned to the commons, at last, that night he realised immediately that she wasn't in her usual spot in front of the fire. He wondered briefly if she had retired to her dorm but dismissed the thought. He hoped she'd gone to the Astronomy Tower again. Slowly, he crept his way through the shadows, not eager to attract any attention to himself after curfew.

She was there again, back to him once more as she sat a bit further back from the railing this time, feet folded beneath her. He'd just watched her for several minutes, replaying the events of the day.

"That's not something you could ever be prepared for."

The way her face had slipped into an apathetic mask would have bothered him if he had not seen the mirth still dancing in her eyes, had not felt the crackle of her energy on his skin. He shuddered at the thought, the goosebumps reclaiming his skin once more.

"Are you just gonna stare at the back of my head or are you going to join me?"

She'd managed to do it again, startled him from his thoughts as he watched her, feeling assured that she hadn't known that he was there.

Looking back at her now he saw that she was standing, stretching her body in the most catlike way. He smirked, how fitting.

She was still backing him, 'probably intentionally so,' he thought to himself.

"Discovered any pedestrian fears within yourself yet Malfoy."

He was thankful that she was still backing him as a grimace marred his face. He really hated when she called him Malfoy.

"Draco," he intoned.

She turned to look at him now, head once more cocked to the side. 'She really is a cat,' he thought, resisting the urge to smile at her quirk. Her eyes were intense, the tints of brown absent in the dark of the night. He felt like he was being examined as she stared without speaking.

"Draco," she said simply.

He stepped closer to her now, wanting to be to near her, wanting to touch her.

"I like it when you say my name." he murmured, taking a few more steps in her direction before finally standing as close as he had earlier that day in class.

A smile tugged at her lips then, "It is a nice name, as far as names go."

He smiled back at her, his heartbeat speeding up.

"Well Draco, are you going to answer my question?"

It took everything in him not to lean down and kiss her. Her lips looked amazing, soft, and plump and…

"Draco."

His eyes snapped back up to hers and he took a step back quickly. He could feel himself being drawn to her, could feel himself become wrapped up in all that was Katrina.

His face was a stony mask as he watched her, not trusting himself to not touch her.

"If I didn't know better Draco, I'd think your pedestrian fear was me," she said, taking a step towards him, there was even less distance than there'd been before.

He closed his eyes and licked his lips, taking a deep breath to steady himself when his world came to an abrupt halt. She was kissing him, her lips even softer than he could have imagined. Her hands were warm and pulled his face down to hers. He nipped at her bottom lip, quickly sucking it into his mouth. She tasted like caramel and cinnamon. It was a deep moan from her that almost destroyed his self-control. Grabbing her by the waist he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

She pulled away abruptly, a look that resembled fear clouding her features before a cold one replaced it. She turned to leave without saying another word but he grabbed her by the arm.

"Katrina wait! Did I do something wrong? Did I-"

She wrenched her arm from his grasp taking a step backwards to put more distance between them.

"Don't," her voice quavered and for the first time that he could remember he saw the vulnerability that lay below the surface of her cold apathy.

"You can't touch me there," she said, her voice stronger now, pointedly avoiding his eyes.

And then she was gone, and he was more confused than ever.


	3. Awareness

If it was one thing that Katrina knew for absolute certain, it was that her brother was an asswipe. She sat across from him in the common room, casually draped across a single armchair as the idiot in question regaled everyone with some garbage story.

Her twin. Blaise.

They'd always been inseparable. Him stirring up trouble while she covered for him. That's something she'd always loved about him, his penchant for disaster. A smile twitched her lips as she remembered the 'pranks' he'd pulled on their mother's many husbands. Some more successful than others. They were at the ripe old age of seven and their mother was on husband number three much to Blaise's very vocal displeasure.

The man, Jackson, an American wizard had virtually materialized into their lives as soon as husband number two had disappeared. Their mother, try as she might, never seemed to have enough time for them. What, with the constant need for companionship and the struggle of being a debutante. No, there was never enough time for the children. That morning had been as uneventful as always. Blaise had harassed her from her sleep under the guise of being annoying, though she knew he was just lonely. She understood, she was too.

They'd been alone in their large dining room, eating the breakfast Minnie had prepared for them when Jackson had made a grand entrance. The tall pale man had swept into the room beaming and plopped himself down at the table.

"What's for breakfast kiddos?"

Blaise glowered, she munched on her cereal, intent to just watch the two. She'd learned long ago the value of her silence.

"We aren't kiddos," Blaise ground out after swallowing a mouthful of eggs. "We are Blaise and Katrina and you will address us as such." He jutted out his chin at his proclamation, attempting to look down his nose at the man. She allowed a small smile at the action.

Jackson just laughed, reaching over to pat Blaise on the head. The young boy recoiled immediately, face the picture of disdain and shock.

"Do NOT touch me!"

Jackson's face only lit up more with mirth as he continued to poke at the boy's nerves. Blaise had whispered something under his breath and had thrown his fork onto the table with a huff. Grabbing his sister by the hand he dragged her from the room, barely caring that she hadn't finished her breakfast or that Jackson was still laughing at his expense. Katrina frowned, she didn't like it when they upset Blaise.

A few minutes later when they were exploring the grounds of the mansion Katrina had finally spoken up.

"You shouldn't let the American get under your skin Blaise," she said plainly, as though nothing else could ever be more obvious.

He nodded though his eyes never left the small pond in front of them. Katrina had always refused to acknowledge that the men had names, merely using their most prominent descriptors when speaking of them. It was harder to become attached to a person when you reduced them to a singular aspect of themselves.

He reached into the water and tried to grab a fish but missed. That's when their mother had come out of the house in a huff. Her long dressing robes were flowing gently on the breeze she created with her swift strides.

"What have you done this time!?" she'd all but screamed at Blaise who landed flat on his ass and scrambled away from the imposing figure of their mother. It wasn't so much a question as it was an indictment.

Katrina had always adored their mother. She wanted to be just like her, with her dark skin and long coily hair and pretty flowy robes. Even now, as she scared the ever living crap out of her brother, Katrina wanted nothing more than to one day be as imposing as her mommy.

"You will speak when you are spoken to young man."

Katrina had quickly stepped between the two, eyes locked on her mother's face.

"Blaise didn't do anything, we were just out here playing in the garden."

Her mother's eyes had shifted from Blaise to her although the fury there never faltered.

"Do not lie for him Katrina, it is unbecoming of a young lady to lie."

She was unphased by her mother's response, long since accustomed to the 'expectations of a lady.'

"Why would I lie mother? Of what benefit would it be for me to lie?"

Their mother had taken pause at her boldness, her fury losing to a faint sense of pride.

"Was it you then Katrina who jinxed your father?"

"Our father is dead, how could I jinx him?"

She'd said it plain as day and Blaise's eyes snapped to the back of his sister's head. What did she think she was doing? Saying these things to mother?

She was surprised when she felt the stinging on her cheeks and she collapsed to the ground from the force of it. Her hand flew to her face immediately as she stared in shock at the older woman who stood before them.

"Do not presume that you can speak to me in that way young lady. If you wish to defend the frivolities of your brother then so be it, but you will not disrespect me."

Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and her dark skin had begun to welt, the clear imprint of a hand angry on her otherwise unblemished cheek.

"Yes, mother."

She'd left then, not sparing them a backwards glance. Blaise ran to his sister, gently moving her hand from her face to inspect the injury.

"Why did you lie to mother Katrina? Why did you mouth off to her? I'm the big brother, I have to protect you. Why didn't you stay quiet like you always do?" His tone was pleading, like he was begging her to understand.

"Because dear Blaise," she said as the tears finally cascaded down her face, "it wouldn't have just been a slap in the face for you."

Blaise cringed at her words, knowing their truth. He'd never been quiet about his displeasure over their mother's suitors and she'd never held back in her rage.

From then on he'd been more careful in his 'pranks' and she'd continued to defend him when their mother became aware. Such was their dynamic.

"And it was like cum everywhere!" Blaise said, gesturing lewdly towards Nott.

She crinkled her nose in disgust.

Over the years things had changed. They were no longer joined at the hip, each having made their own friends, pursued their own goals, although they seemed to always be in somewhat close proximity to each other and Blaise had clearly claimed the position as the defender of the two. She knew that when it came to her his temper knew no bounds, and he'd made sure everyone else had known as well. Many a student had been at the receiving end of a beating from the dark boy from perceived slights to her.

"Do you remember when we turned our 6th father blue?"

She looked up to see several eyes on her as her brother clearly intended to drag her down the rabbit hole of his story telling.

"We? I do believe that was you, dear Blaise."

"Now now, sister dear, let's not get bogged down with the details of who did what. What was his name again? Number 6?"

"Fuck if I know Blaise, you're the ones that addressed them by names, not I."

He laughed then, a deep rumbling sound and she smiled at his mirth.

"Oh yeah, you only called them by descriptors."

She nodded in response, her laughter barely contained.

"Now wait just one minute," Nott interjected, "did you just say Number 6?!"

Blaise schooled his expression into a mask of seriousness as he addressed Theodore's question.

"Why yes Nott, our mother is a fine collector of wizarding artefacts."

She could no longer keep back the laugh that burst from her mouth. Trust Blaise to make such a metaphor.

"Honestly Blaise, you're such an ass."

"I live to please." He said making a dramatic bow.

She shook her head at him then, her hair bouncing around her.

"Tell them about what happened at dinner tonight Blaise."

It was Theodore that egged him on. Unable to resist, her brother launched into another tale and she took the moment away from the small spotlight to withdraw into herself once more. She watched Blaise as he easily held everyone's attention. As much as she loved him it was sometimes too much to be in the presence of his large personality and the others that were attracted to it. Pansy Parkinson had been trying to inconspicuously inch her way onto his lap all night and Blaise didn't seem too bothered by it and at last the girl had seemed to have gained some success.

She stood then, having had enough of everything and everyone before slipping from the room. If anyone were to question her as to why she was out of the commons beyond curfew she would merely tell them that she was doing rounds, although that was the furthest from her intention.

Sometime during her trek across the castle, she became aware of someone following her, the person skulking in the shadows a safe distance behind her. She doubted that they meant her harm as they'd had ample opportunity to exact it without being seen if that was the case and so she continued unbothered by her company. It was by the moving staircase that she'd caught a flash of platinum blonde hair and pale skin in a sliver of moonlight.

Interesting.

When finally she arrived at her destination she took up her usual spot, feet dangling over the side of the tower, head propped on her hands that sat on the railing. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest. She counted out a full 3 minutes after settling down and still he made no move to enter the room although she could tell that he was still at the door. She decided then, that if he was going to stay he might as well make good company.

"You should join me Draco."

It was a simple enough request but she wasn't sure the blond boy would comply. Nothing about him was ever easy to read. She kept her eyes fixed on the scenery below her feet and when a strong breeze blew by her. Her pulse quickened even more and she felt panic begin to grip the base of her spine.

Falling. It was a fear she'd always had and had never been able to get over. It wasn't the height itself. It was the act of being in motion downward. Of uncertainty and falling. It was the fear of pain and collapsing and lack of control all wrapped in one. It was a silly fear that she'd never been able to shake. She could never ride a broom. What if she fell? The thought chilled her to the core.

She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard his soft, careful footsteps ascend the stairs and approach her. Squeezing her eyes shut she tried her best to steady her breath to ignore the fear of impending doom that she could feel creep up her dangling feet and settling like lead in her stomach. Falling.

"I'm afraid of falling," she said quietly. It was a truth she'd never shared with anyone apart from her brother. A truth she tried to confront when it became too much to be around others and their loud personalities and even louder voices.

"Why should you be afraid of such a thing? You're a witch."

She couldn't control the nervous laugh that followed his words. He did have a point after all. She was not some muggle that could not control certain elements of the world around them and merely experienced what the world did to them. She was a witch.

She looked back at him now, the change in view doing a great deal for her racing heart.

"We all have fears Draco. I am no more in control of mine than you of yours."

And that was the sad truth. Over the years she'd questioned herself relentlessly about her fear of falling. Had tried numerous ways to overcome it but had always lost out to it.

She turned back to the grounds then, although this time she didn't look below her but instead ahead.

"I suppose not. But falling seems particularly pedestrian."

She couldn't help it, she laughed again. He seemed so disdainful, not of her but of the concept of anyone being afraid of something so simple. She considered it for a moment before she began to explain.

"I suppose it is, but there's something about the weightlessness of it, the lack of control it-"

She cut herself off realising that this was a conversation much better had face to face, not face to back as it were. Something so personal, that she'd never told another sold, should not simply said but communicated. She wanted him to understand. Wanted him to know her fear.

She unfolded herself from around the railing now, returning to her full height.

"It's like a cold hand crawls up from the base of my spine and squeezes my heart. It's like I can't breathe and in that moment - falling - there is no amount of magic I can conjure to save me."

She watched as he digested her words before smiling, watching him fight himself.

She didn't make the conscious decision to move closer to him, simply feeling a strange pull to be closer to him, to stand toe to toe to the curiously blond boy.

"What do you fear Draco Malfoy? What pedestrian things still your heart?" She made it a point to look him dead in the eye, wanting to see if she could discern any emotions there.

But he gave nothing away, face a perfect mask of cool indifference.

"Nothing."

She didn't know why, but she didn't quite believe him. Something felt hollow about his words like there was something there that he'd rather not tell her, would rather keep to himself.

"Is that so?"

She took a step back, schooling her features. She felt foolish now for trusting him with her secret, silly as it might be. Why did she think that telling him this was a good idea. They weren't friends, had barely spoken more than five words to each other over the course of their schooling. Maybe that was part of the appeal, perhaps that was why her confession to him had come so easily.

There would be no solitude here tonight, and her confrontation of the truth of her fears felt meaningless in the light of his attitude towards her. She turned then to leave the room.

She didn't know why she stopped, didn't know why she allowed the words to leave her lips, but she turned her head and said to the frozen boy.

"I wish I too could be fearless."


	4. Morning After

The next morning found him sitting in the commons waiting. After he'd collected his wits he'd rushed to the common room only to find her very obviously missing. Not wanting to attract Blaise's attention he had simply sat in his usual spot pretending to listen to the dark boy. He'd kissed her. No, he corrected himself, she'd kissed him. And then she'd recoiled and then she'd left. He frowned at the thought.

You can't touch me there.

His touch had been simple enough, he hadn't groped her, hadn't tried to touch her anywhere mildly sexual, he'd held her waist to pull her closer. Why couldn't he touch her waist? His frown deepened as he lost himself in thought.

"And just where are you coming from?" It was Blaise who has posed the question and Draco's eyes immediately snapped up hoping it was her.

He wasn't disappointed. She was making her way into the commons alone and solemn. She didn't respond. Instead, she'd looked at her brother, eyes betraying nothing before turning and heading to her single dorm, the door slamming loudly behind her.

"Just what the fuck happened to her?" Blaise asked to no one in particular before pulling himself up and disappearing into her room.

Draco stayed behind for a while longer, puzzling over the mystery that was Katrina. No matter how he twisted it, no matter how he looked at it he couldn't wrap his mind around why she'd reacted so violently.

Which was why he was here now, at six in the morning, waiting, hoping to catch her alone before breakfast. He knew she was always one of the first to breakfast. On a few occasions that he had bothered to wake before the sun had already risen he'd seen her there; her friends often meeting her later in the morning. He looked up when he heard footsteps approaching him and wasn't disappointed to see her coming towards him. She was stunning. Her hair was pulled back from her face revealing high cheekbones that were usually hidden in a puff of hair. Her eyes were dark and hooded. She'd foregone her usual robes in favour of just her uniform and he was transfixed.

When her eyes met his he felt his pulse quicken as it was want to do as of late. He stood quickly and approached her. He couldn't afford to let her slip away. He needed answers and she was the only one that would be able to help him.

"Katrina."

She didn't pause, didn't acknowledge that she had heard him.

"Katrina!"

She turned to face him, regarding him coolly as he looked down at her.

"Katrina, what happened last night?" He was hesitant to touch her, but he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't want to. The kiss they'd shared, brief as it was had been great.

"Nothing."

He was taken aback by her demeanour. She was withdrawn and cold, more so than she'd been before any of whatever this was had started.

He wanted to step away from her, to recoil into himself at her rebuff but he stood where he was, watching her intently, undeterred.

"If I hurt you if I…. if I did anything to make you uncomfortable I'm sorry."

She'd never seen him so earnest, so open, his emotions often hidden behind a facade of disgust and petty, regurgitated bigotry. She could never even recall a single time that he'd apologized to anyone. It took all of her willpower to hold her ground. She'd decided last night to keep to herself. She didn't know what had possessed her to kiss him last night. She wouldn't deny being attracted to him, and working him into a snit had been so satisfying, but she couldn't afford to lead him on. She could never give him what he wanted.

"I don't know what you're talking about Malfoy because nothing happened."

She'd expected many things from him, had expected him to sneer at her, expected his classism had expected his anger and disdain. What she didn't expect was his lips on hers. She stood perfectly still, unable to process what was happening.

His lips were soft but insistent and her eyes fluttered closed as his warm hands cupped her cheeks. He felt so good. When he nipped her lip sharply she gasped and he used her surprise to plunder her mouth, massaging her tongue with his. Her control all but flew out of the window when he moaned into her mouth. His scent filled her senses and for a long moment, she was lost in all that was Draco Malfoy.

Her hands moved from her sides to grip his bare forearms for support, her knees struggling to hold her up. A full minute passed with him slowly exploring her mouth before he pulled away, grey eyes staring intently at her face.

"Don't tell me nothing happened Katrina," his voice a low murmur.

She couldn't focus on what he was saying her eyes fixed on his reddened lips. When they tilted up into a smug smirk she looked up at him and her pulse sped up. The way he was looking at her made her body flush. It looked like he wanted to devour her, to consume her. His hands were still on cheeks and she felt blood rush to her face.

He was leaning in to kiss her again when she pulled away, putting some much-needed distance between them.

His hands dropped to his sides as he watched her withdraw from him. He tried not to be hurt by her actions. Tried to keep his feelings out of it. She was just some girl. There was no reason for him to be so attached.

"I can't do this Draco. I can't give you what you want."

"And who are you to presume to know what I want?" he asked coldly, a sneer contorting his features

She recoiled as if he'd struck her and he had to put his feelings aside to stop himself from going to comfort her.

She took a couple steps away from him, nodding as she did. He was right, of course. Attraction or no she didn't know him, couldn't know his motivations and to think that he had actually wanted her had been a stupid fantasy.

She schooled her expression nodding once more.

"Of course, my mistake Lord Malfoy," she said before dipping into a deep bow.

Straightening up to her full height once more she turned on her heel and left, not sparing him a backwards glance.

As he watched her make her departure he was left wondering what the fuck he had just done.

He'd tried numerous times that day to talk to her, to explain what had happened, to straighten things out and he found out the hard way that he had probably destroyed any chance he'd had with her. She stuck to her brother like glue, not even her friends, could wedge themselves between them. On Blaise's part, he played the role of the concerned older brother to a T. It was clear the elder of the twins thought someone had hurt her and had taken to scowling at everyone who tried to talk to her, her bosom buddies included.

In every class, in the halls, everywhere, the twins had been inseparable and Draco had been annoyed, mostly with himself. He had ruined everything. He knew now that he had had a chance with her. The way she'd responded to him that morning was proof enough that he hadn't been wrong. Something had happened and then he'd gone and shat on it in some feeble attempt to protect his pride.

"Oi, watch where you're going Malfoy."

It was the weasel he'd bumped into.

"Fuck off Weasel-bee," he sneered at the lanky boy.

"What no quips from Lord Malfoy himself?"

Draco rounded on him then, taking large strides to stand before the ginger, glowering at him.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" he demanded, hands balled into fists as he gripped Weasley's shirt, pulling the ginger close to him.

He tuned out the noise of Potter's threats and glared at the useless human before him.

It had must have been a coincidence but the slight had set Draco off nonetheless.

A small crowd began to form around them, no doubt eager to see a fight between the longtime rivals when her voice rang out through the crowd.

"Release Weasley Malfoy, I won't have you losing points for our house."

He pushed the boy away from him before turning to face her. She looked him dead in the eye unflinching and beautiful, and he felt his heart clench painfully.

"Katrina-"

But by then she was leaving again, her brother running to catch up with her.

"And just what was that with you and Draco?" Blaise asked suspicious, having finally caught up with her.

"Nothing." She seemed to be using that word a lot more recently, she noted.

"Right, and Bob's your uncle."

She pretended not to hear him, continuing down the corridor.

"Katrina, are you interested in Draco Malfoy?"

She could hear the incredulity in his voice, could hear the judgement. This is why she didn't talk about love interests with her brother. Plotting to oust one of their mother's suitors? Sure. Dating? Definitely not.

"And what if I am?"

"And what if you are? For fuck's sake, he's a male slag! I mean he's my mate but he's not good enough for you."

"Is anyone?" she asked bitterly, recalling how several guys had refused to date her because of Blaise.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Do I?" she asked coolly, knowing just how much he hated when she was apathetic with him.

"Don't do this Katrina."

"I'm not doing anything. With Malfoy or otherwise."

"I just don't want you to be hurt Katrina," he said earnestly, "I hate seeing you in pain."

She frowned at him, taking a long pause.

"This conversation is causing me pain," she said dramatically and he smiled in response.

Few people got to see this side of her, the overly dramatic smart-ass.

"Is that so?" he asked, poorly imitating the snooty tone she took with people she didn't like.

She slapped him on the back of the head before he could dodge her.

"Seriously though, I know I can't tell you what to do, I never could, just…. Just be careful with Malfoy."

"Fear not brother dear, your precious friend Malfoy doesn't want me."

He didn't miss how she'd phrased it or the note of dejection that coloured her tone or, more telling still, the way her posture seemed to stiffen when their conversation turned to Draco once more and he just hoped that if anything did happen that he wouldn't have to kill his friend.

After the confrontation in the hallway, he'd felt Blaise's eyes on him. Katrina had detached herself from him and once more found herself in the company of her friends. So it came as little surprise to him when the other boy had pulled him into an infrequently used corridor glowering at him.

"What the fuck have you done to my sister?"

"I didn't do anything, Blaise."

He made no move to defend himself when the other boy stalked towards him, getting right in his face.

"See that it stays that way then, yeah?"

"And if I don't?"

He saw a flash of anger cross Blaise's face but he didn't back down. He had no intention of giving up with Katrina just yet, not when he was so close. So he might as well see what the other boy had in store.

Blaise took a step back running a hand over his face and then over his closely cropped hair. They really were too similar the male twin thought.

"For whatever reason Draco she seems to like you, much as she says she doesn't. And if I kick your ass or scare you off and she actually does then she'll want to kick my ass and that's not something I look forward to. But mark my words Draco, if you hurt her, you'll wish you were Pucey."

"Do you think you scare me Zabini? Your threats hold little water against someone who can actually hold their own in a duel. I'm not Pucey."

Blaise laughed abruptly, the sound puzzling the blond.

"Oh, you poor sod. You've no idea what you're doing."

He'd been sitting off to one side of the Astronomy Tower for hours, hoping that she would come. He needed to see her. Needed to finally straighten things out with her.

He was twirling his wand in his long fingers when she suddenly appeared in the doorway before promptly turning and walking away when she had spotted him. Collecting his bag from beside him he ran after her.

"Katrina!"

He saw that she visibly sped up when she heard him.

"Katrina wait."

She made no move to slow down, running down the stairs. He sped up, finally catching up with her. He grabbed her hand trying to turn her to face him only to find himself with her wand under his throat.

She was glowering up at him and he realised he'd made a serious mistake.

"Katrina-"

"Stay away from me Malfoy."

"Katrina I-"

"I don't care," her wand jabbed into his throat at her proclamation.

He could feel the energy crackling off of her again and his skin responded immediately goosebumps covering his skin. He was unable to hold back the shiver that went down his spine.

"Katrina I'm sorry."

"So you've said."

She stared him down and he couldn't help the hope that bloomed in his chest recalling Blaise's words. She liked him. Cautiously, he reached up to take her hand where it held her wand to his throat.

"I'm an idiot, and I'm sorry."

"I do believe that is the understatement of the year," she deadpanned. He couldn't just run up to her and win her. She was not some trollop like Parkinson.

The silence stretched long and awkward between them. She made no move to speak or move away and he didn't know if that was a good thing.

"I'm afraid of giving into you," he said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Is that so?"

"Yes." His answer was definite and sure.

Again silence fell long and pregnant between them as she continued to stare at him, nothing betraying her emotions.

Releasing her hand he sighed, raking his fingers roughly through his hair as he looked upward for some type of deliverance, her wand still stabbing him in the throat

"It's you, Katrina, that are my pedestrian fear although you yourself are anything but."

Another pause as she watched him, she would not give in to him based on a simple admission, already she had made a fool of herself, twice she noted. No, there would be no more rushing to Draco Malfoy.

"And?"

"And what?" he asked slightly annoyed. Why was she being so obtuse?

She didn't elaborate, didn't lower her wand, just watched him blankly, waiting for something.

He sighed. "When I think about giving into you I'm gripped with panic, everything in me wants to rebel against the feeling. I want to fight it, to scream-"

"Sounds like you should listen to your instincts," she said plainly before lowering he wand and taking a step backwards.

"What? No, I-"

"You what?" her tone was icy, face stoney. "You think that because I kissed you there's something here? Something to give into?"

To say that he was shocked and hurt would be an understatement. He didn't understand what was happening here. Based on this morning and what Blaise had said he'd been sure that he still had a chance. Looking at her now he wasn't so sure. She was completely closed off. He really had fucked things up this morning.

"I want you. I want to touch you, and hold you and possess you. I want you, I want no one else to look at you, no one else to touch you. I want you to be mine. And that scares me. That desire, that possession. It terrifies me to want anyone that much." The words were harder to say than he'd care to admit, but as he saw it, if there was any sliver of a chance with her, if he hadn't completely fucked everything up, he needed to put all of his cards on the tables.

"I want you Katrina but I'm afraid."

She didn't respond immediately and his heart thundered in his chest waiting for her response. It hadn't escaped his notice that she was now addressing him by only his last name or that she was treating him with obvious hostility. Why'd he had to go and say that this morning? 'And who are you to presume to know what I want?'. He wanted her, he'd known it for some time now but he'd never been one to be denied. That's why his response to her rejection had been so cold.

"I'm sorry for this morning, I-"

"If you don't stop apologizing I'll be forced to hurt you," she said cutting him off, no trace of humour in her voice.

Her eyes were closed and she was massaging her temples.

"Listen Malfoy, I don't know you, never have. But I know myself and I do not do this." Her dark eyes were open now, once more appearing black in the darkness. "I won't deny that I'm attracted to you but I don't do second chances, people often are not worth it."

His heart sank, he had had a chance, and he blew it.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she screwed her eyes closed, brows furrowed in discontent. Finally, she heaved a deep sigh shaking her head.

"Do not make me regret giving you another chance Draco."

And then she was gone, leaving him stunned and alone with his thoughts.


	5. Miss Zabini

He'd been frozen in place for a while after she'd left. She'd given him a second chance, had admitted that she was attracted to him. He had been an exception. 'I don't do second chances, people often are not worth it.' Yet she'd given him one. He couldn't help the grin that claimed his face. He had a chance with her and he couldn't afford to fuck it up again. Collecting himself he made his way back to the commons, wondering absently if she'd be there or if she'd reclaimed her place in the Astronomy Tower in his absence.

Blaise fixed him with a narrowed glare when he entered the room.

"Where's my sister Malfoy?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "Hell if I know Zabini."

She was probably in the Astronomy Tower, feet dangling over the edge and enveloped in silence. He smiled a bit at the thought. He didn't understand why, if she was so afraid, she insisted on engaging her fear.

He felt the other boy's eyes on him as he left the commons and went to his shared dorm but ignored him, there was nothing that could ruin his high.

That night, not for the first time, thoughts of Katrina Zabini filled his dreams.

She'd woken early as always the next morning and headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Blaise was right, she did like Draco, whether he was worth a second chance or not was yet to be seen but she was content to grace him with one, if only because he was interesting. And attractive she admitted to herself.

She was unsurprised to see him draped over an armchair in front of the fire, no doubt waiting for her. What did surprise her was that he was reading. He looked up as she approached, a smirk on his face.

"Good morning sunshine," he said cheerfully. She didn't have a doubt it was in large part due to her sour expression. She hadn't slept well last night and wasn't particularly interested whether people knew she was upset or not.

Ignoring his comment she tilted her head to get a better look at the book on his lap. When she was approaching him she hadn't been able to tell what the book was, the small thing bound in leather, but as she looked at the open book she came to a startling realization.

"Are you reading Shakespeare Draco?"

He snapped the book close at her inquisition, looking at her sharply. "Am I supposed to know who that is?" he asked coolly.

She couldn't help her devious grin. Bending at the waist and leaning close to his face she moved as if she was going to kiss him and he responded immediately, leaning instinctively towards her, eyes closed. And nothing.

He opened his eyes to see her gone and his book in her hands.

"I burn, I pine, I perish," she read from the book, before flipping through its pages.

"You know Draco, I'd pictured you as more of an Othello man," she said as she handed the book back to him. He snatched it from her, scowling, before stuffing it into his book bag.

Standing he headed for the door not bothering to check if she was following. And to think he was there waiting for her.

She smiled to herself as she followed him.

"What's wrong Draco, muggle books are perfectly legitimate forms of entertainment."

She stood behind him smiling as he turned around and stalked towards her, face thunderous. He was glowering down at her, barely a breath away and she tilted her head up to look him square in the eye not flinching as a sneer once more marred his face.

"You don't know what you're talking about Zabini."

"Oh ho, Zabini am I?" She said, smile still in place.

He seemed almost dangerous at that moment, glaring down at her angrily, no trace of humour to be found anywhere in his countenance. All of this about muggles of all things.

He seemed to get a handle on his anger, deflating just the tiniest bit.

"You know Draco, I wouldn't judge you for liking muggle things." Her voice was quiet and kind and she realised she wanted him to believe her.

"How did you even know what it was?" He asked, voice matching hers in volume. It was as though he was telling her a secret.

She smiled brightly before reaching onto her toes to place a kiss on the tip of his nose. He crinkled his nose in response.

It tickled.

"There are some brilliant muggles Draco. My mother never much believed in blood purity but she always believed in power and knowledge is the greatest power we could have."

He didn't seem appeased by her answer so she continued, voice taking on a snooty air as she imitated her mother.

"We must not limit our minds to the frivolities of wizarding egotism Katrina, we must devour knowledge in all its forms, regardless of its master for it is knowledge which is power and knowledge cares not for blood."

She shrugged after her little speech looking away from him then. She didn't like talking about her mother, not with Blaise and certainly not with Draco Malfoy.

"I grew up on Beedle the Bard and Shakespeare, The Hobgoblins and Mozart. Mother exposed us to everything. So you see Draco," she said turning to look at him again, "I wouldn't judge you for enjoying muggle things. How could I when I do myself?"

Her smile seemed sadder somehow, he noted. It didn't quite reach her eyes as it had before and he couldn't help but wonder why talking about her mother would dampen her mood so much.

Before he could ask a devious smirk twisted her lips.

"So Draco, got any other muggle loves? Granger Perhaps? That's the only other time I've seen you quite so...affected."

He wasn't thinking straight when he reacted. It had been an impulsive action but he was glad he did it. He kissed her, hard. Crushing his lips against hers and demanding dominance. She complied without much prodding, a soft moan escaping her lips.

Pulling back he regarded her. Her normally hooded eyes were closed and her lips were puffy.

"I'm not interested in Granger." There was no room for argument with his firm tone and there was that look again like he would devour her, all signs of his anger gone.

She smiled at him again, his heart thundered in response.

"Good."

And that's all she said before she sidestepped him and continued towards the Great Hall, leaving him to follow behind her.

He couldn't decide whether to sit with her or not when they finally reached the Great Hall. On the one hand, she'd given him another chance and he wanted to take advantage of every second of it. On the other hand, he had no idea what that meant for them. Were they a couple? Certainly not, they'd kissed a handful of times and had spoken to each other just as much. That wasn't enough of a foundation for a relationship to stand on. In fact, he didn't even think they were friends. There was also her volatile brother. While he meant what he told the other boy he was none too fond of pain if he could avoid it.

So, with that in mind, he decided it would be prudent to sit on his own, at least for now. Apparently, Katrina had other plans, moving from where she'd sat to sit right next to him. She'd looked directly at him, one eyebrow raised and stolen his toast from his plate. Eyes still locked on his she ate it before turning away from him to fill her own plate. He chuckled in response before returning to his own meal. She certainly wasn't what he'd expected.

When Blaise entered the room sometime later his displeasure at the sight of her sat next to Draco was written all over his face. He'd shot glares at the two of them. Katrina flat out ignoring him while Draco tried to appear as oblivious as she did to her twin's ire. He'd grumbled to himself throughout the meal when Katrina finally spoke up.

"What pray tell crawled up your ass and died Blaise?"

He'd fixed her with a hostile glare before responding.

"Why pray tell," he imitated "are you sitting next to Malfoy?"

His statement had caught the attention of a few people and they turned to look at the trio.

"Shouldn't I sit with the guy that I'm dating?" She asked, false sweetness dripping from her voice. Blaise sputtered angrily and Draco almost choked on his pumpkin juice.

She smiled in response, pretending not to notice the two as she went back to her breakfast. She wasn't oblivious to the hushed whispers that spread across the table or how uncomfortable both Draco and her brother appeared at her statement. She simply didn't care.

A shrill scream caught her attention and she looked up to see none other than squash-faced Pansy Parkinson stomping in her direction.

Beautiful.

"Draco tell me it's not true!" the brunette girl demanded.

Katrina turned to look at him with interest and he realised that she'd had every intention of witnessing this precise thing. That devious witch.

He turned to face Pansy all eyes on him at this point, Blaise seemed to be particularly interested.

"And what would I be telling you isn't true Pansy?"

She huffed indignantly, folding her hands over her chest and stomping her foot, her sharp black bob swinging with the motion.

"That you're dating her!" She'd all but screamed the last word and was pointing at Katrina.

"What business of yours is it who I'm dating?"

He didn't see the way Katrina's eyes narrowed slightly or how Blaise shook his head at his response.

"I'm your intended Draco, I won't have you sullying yourself with the likes of a Zabini. Her mother is a slag, I mean everyone knows how many men go through that mansion, Merlin only knows how many of them really were for her," she said motioning towards the deathly silent girl with her chin, clearly emboldened by the lack of response from either of the twins.

That's why it came as a complete shock to the fuming girl when she flew through the air before slamming into the floor. She looked up in time to see the taller girl stalking towards her. Pansy scrambled back on the ground trying to escape the fury of the dark girl. Suddenly she was weightless again, her view of the world around her flipping as she ascended, it felt as though something was tied to her leg and blood rushed to her face, her uniform falling down around her ears.

"Ms Zabini, this is most inappropriate! 20 points from Slytherin!" McGonagall's voice was shrill as she bustled towards the pair at the back of the hall but Katrina was undeterred. She raised her wand blinded by fury when she felt a hand on her wrist. Her head snapped to the left to see Draco beside her, her wrist held firmly in his.

"Katrina don't."

She wrenched her hand from his grip before levelling him with a glare, tone lethal.

"Do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot do Malfoy."

He could tell that she was beyond furious and she had every right to be. What Pansy had said about her was something he'd heard himself over the years, but had only ever been whispered about when neither of the twins was there. He'd been shocked when the smaller girl had blurted it out and hadn't had time to respond before Katrina had reacted.

He took her hand in his again, not caring about anything else at that moment but trying to diminish her fury, trying to get her to understand. He tugged on her hand pulling her closer and wrapping her in a tight hug before she could react, lips by her ear.

"I know you wanted a response from me with your little stunt this morning but I didn't want to claim you before talking to you first. Don't let Parkinson ruin this before it really gets started."

He felt more than saw that she relaxed slightly before pushing away from him.

McGonagall appeared next to the two, huffing and red in the face.

"Ms Zabini let Miss Parkinson down at once!"

Katrina didn't respond, merely reversing the hex, eyes still trained on Draco.

"I will see you, Miss Zabini, in detention!"

"There is no need for you to involve yourself in the affairs of my house, Minerva."

Severus Snape had virtually materialized behind the small gathering, his intrusion no doubt responsible for the older woman's pursed lips.

He turned to regard the young woman before him, hand still held in his godson's. How interesting.

"Misses Zabini and Parkinson, I expect a 10-foot scroll, from each of you, on the effects of the Draught of Living Death before breakfast tomorrow." He didn't wait for a response from either girl, turning and leaving without ceremony, black robes billowing as he went.

McGonagall left with one final harumph, clearly displeased with all parties involved, though no doubt a large part of her displeasure was centred squarely on her colleague.

Hand still in his own Draco guided the silent girl back to their seats where they resumed breakfast though it was clear to the blond that he'd have to straighten things out properly with the girl beside him before they could escalate any further. He didn't want a repeat of the previous day.

Blaise had watched the entire exchange with great interest, he had every intention of hexing the obnoxious girl himself but as per usual had been beaten to it by his sister, a lifetime of coming to his defence no doubt leading her to react on instinct. What he hadn't expected was Draco attempting to and being somewhat successful at calming her down. Katrina's fury was something he avoided at all costs. He knew all too well that oftentimes the only thing that would relieve it was her being able to lash out at the source of it. That Draco had been minimally successful in calming her was no small feat especially given that Pansy had left with no broken bones or scarring. There was clearly more between the two than either had let on, probably more than either had realised.

He'd pulled her into an empty classroom right before lunch. He wouldn't let the whole day go by without straightening things out with her. He wouldn't squander his chance. She hadn't said anything since breakfast. Not in class, not to her brother and not to her friends. She'd sat simmering in her thoughts and occasionally jotting notes down on a ridiculously large scroll. Probably for Severus he thought. Now she stood before him, looking at him expectantly. Still silent.

He ran his hand through his hair not knowing where to start. At every turn in their dalliance, he'd been at a loss as to his next move. She'd been unlike any of the girls he'd been with up until this point and while it was certainly one of the things that attracted him to her it also was responsible for him being absolutely lost as to what to do.

When the silence continued she sat on a chair, pulling out the ridiculously long scroll and returning to her previous preoccupation. It was like he wasn't there. He frowned. At least she hadn't left.

"What are we, Katrina?"

She gave no indication that she had heard him, scribbling furiously on the parchment.

"I hadn't been given any impression that we were anything Draco."

She didn't look up, still writing furiously and he was struck by how annoyed she seemed to be. He didn't know how to respond to that either and felt himself becoming frustrated with the entire situation. Fucking Pansy.

"So what's the extent of this second chance then? Is it just a chance for me to make an ass of myself again?"

She paused at his question although she never looked at him, before resuming her scribbling again.

"If your intention with me has been to make an ass of yourself then I guess that's precisely what it is."

His intention with her. He didn't know what his intention was. It had started out as a long-held curiosity, a fascination. When she'd kissed him it had morphed into a desire for her, to touch her, to physically have her. Finally, when he realised he'd fucked all of it up it had shown itself to be a desire to have her and all that she was.

"Do you want to date me then?" he asked voice seeming too loud even to his own ears.

She looked at him then, her quill hovering above the rough paper. Putting it down she turned in her seat, facing him completely, crossing one leg over the other.

"I'm not so sure anymore Draco." He had a feeling she was being honest with him and it did nothing to soften the blow.

She watched him as he fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with her response.

"I mean if you're already to be married to someone else what would be the point of it all?"

Relief flooded his body as he realised what had coloured her perception. Fucking Pansy Parkinson.

"I'm not betrothed to Pansy."

"She certainly seems to think otherwise."

If he didn't know better he'd think that he'd heard a tinge of jealousy in her voice. He smirked in response.

"Are you putting stock in what Pansy said this morning Miss Zabini?"

She didn't respond, though he did note that her eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm not betrothed to Pansy, Katrina. Our mothers like the idea of us getting married but that's it."

"So you haven't slept with her then?"

He was caught completely off guard and did little to hide his surprise.

"You haven't slept with Higgs?" It came out as an accusation and he noticed how she seemed to become guarded with his response.

A simple but firm 'no' had been her only response before she'd turned away from him again, attention once more on whatever it is she was writing.

He sighed. That had been the wrong way to handle that question. He'd had no reason to bring Higgs into the equation. Her question about Pansy could be chalked up to simple curiosity based on their interaction this morning, his question about Higgs had been a reflexive attack.

"I have slept with Pansy", he said quietly.

"And she's the only one you've slept with?"

She still wasn't looking at him but he could tell she was interested in his answer, her scribbling noticeably stopped.

"Katrina."

"Draco."

She was looking at him now, attention once more focused solely on him and he felt uncomfortable under her hooded gaze. He could admit to himself that he was afraid of what her response would be if she knew just how many people he'd slept with. She hadn't asked just yet but he knew the question was coming. He knew his only choice would be to tell her the truth. To lie to her would be stupid and only result in destroying everything. Bugger this all to hell.

"She's not." He said evenly, praying she wouldn't ask what he knew was coming next.

"How many?"

It was less of a question and more of a demand. Questioning her, becoming more defensive would do nothing to help him now and he briefly wondered if he'd be enduring this line of questioning if he hadn't issued the Higgs question.

"I don't know," he responded lamely.

He couldn't decipher the look she was giving him. If he could hazard a guess it fell somewhere between disgust and disappointment. He'd never regretted his decision to sleep around before then.

"Have you ever cheated?"

"No, never."

She stood from her seat and walked over to him.

"Good. See that it stays that way," she said simply.

He watched her curiously as she reached up to brush his hair back from his forehead, attempting to smooth it down in a manner reminiscent of when he was younger.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" he asked curiously, no real bite in his voice.

"Why my dear Draco, I'm trying to transport you to a time when you were cute."

And just like that, the tension was broken as she smiled a big cheesy smile up at him, still fighting a losing battle against his hair. He'd never really seen this side of her, only recalling glimpses of anything similar through the years. He almost gave in to the urge to grab her by the waist and kiss her when he was struck by a thought that he'd almost forgotten.

"Why can't I touch your waist?"

She physically recoiled from him, seeming to shrink into herself.

She supposed it was a fair question seeing as she'd just grilled him on his previous sexcapades but that didn't make her any more comfortable with sharing the answer with him. She knew that she couldn't expect openness and honesty from him if she did not give it herself but still she was reluctant.

She didn't meet his eyes when she responded, her gaze firmly fixed on the floor.

"I'm not comfortable with my body."

He couldn't understand. Yes he understood insecurity, everyone had something they wished they could change about themselves but to react so violently in an intimate moment she had initiated seemed to go beyond a feeble insecurity.

Stealing a glance at him she could see that he didn't quite believe her and she sighed knowing she'd have to elaborate.

"I'm not Blaise, I'm not muscular and lithe I'm -"

"I'm big, much bigger than you realise and I'm pudgy and gross. I'm not skinny like Parkinson or Daphne or any of those other girls. I'm fat and I don't like it. Who would?"

He'd almost missed the last part, it was barely above a whisper. He'd never expected her to be so insecure. She always appeared so self-assured, so strong and confident. That she could feel so strongly about her perceived shortcomings had never crossed his mind.

He stepped forward, taking her hand in his. He raised it to his face, brushing his lips across her knuckles.

"My fair Katrina, you are stunning,"

She tried to tug her hand away but he held it firmly in his own.

"This isn't a joke Malfoy."

"Good, because I'm not joking. You. Are. Stunning. A little pudge isn't going to change that."

He could tell she wasn't convinced and continued.

"I never thought you were skinny like Pansy or Daphne and for the record, few are as muscular as your insufferable brother," her scoff in agreement brought a smile to his lips.

"Besides, pudgy tummies are cute." He said with finality, leaving no room for argument with his comment. He'd said it as though it was an established fact.

Her cheeks seemed to swell at his declaration and she looked away immediately.

Was she… "Are you blushing Katrina?!" His tone was incredulous and she turned to walk away, trying to escape his gaze. But he wouldn't be deterred, he tugged on her hand much as he had that morning at breakfast, turning her back to him. She kept her eyes averted but her embarrassment was clear. She was blushing.

She couldn't remember a time she'd been more embarrassed than she was now. Mustering up the courage to tell him she was insecure about her body was one thing, having him declare that she was attractive not in spite of it but because of it was quite another.

She couldn't help the blush that puffed up her cheeks and he had noticed immediately. Blast him to hell. Just how the fuck was she supposed to proceed from here? He already knew more about her than most anyone else and here she was in a room alone with him having told him something she'd never shared with anyone.

A crooked finger under her chin drew her attention to his face. His eyes were dancing with mirth and she realised belatedly that he was much closer than before.

"I never knew you to be one to be embarrassed," he said quietly.

He wanted to kiss her then, blushing and staring up at him with wide eyes. So he did. It was unlike the few kisses they'd shared before then. It wasn't punishing or harsh, there was no fight for dominance. It was a courtship. His lips soft against her own, both of his hands gently cupping her cheeks. It was several minutes more before he pulled away, dotting the tip of her nose with a final kiss reminiscent of the one she'd placed on him that morning.

He sighed again remembering why they were there, hands reaching to hold hers. He had no intention to leave before he had a clear idea of what they were from her. He wouldn't assume. He wanted to be sure before he told anyone she was his.

"Katrina, what are we?" he asked again, his tone pleading.

"What do you want us to be Draco? Do you want to date me? Do you want to be my boyfriend? Do you-"

"Yes," he said cutting her off before she could ask any more questions. And he could admit to himself that it wasn't a lie. Despite his reservations that very morning he knew he wanted her and acknowledging that formally with a title felt appropriate.

"You want to be my boyfriend?" she asked slowly, tone slightly dubious.

"What indication have I given you that that isn't exactly what I want? I don't go around kissing just anyone."

"But you go around sleeping with just anyone?"

"Ouch," he said wincing, he supposed he deserved that for the Higgs dig but it didn't hurt any less coming from her. Putting his hurt aside he continued.

"I do want to be your boyfriend, Katrina. If you'll have me."

"I'm still not so sure that's something you're prepared for Draco."

"Is that so?"

"Mhmm."

"Well, that doesn't sound like a no so that settles it then. Whether I'm prepared or not is inconsequential."

She smirked at his response.

"Don't be so sure Malfoy."

"You know Zabini, I do have a first name."

"Oh? I hadn't been aware."

Who knew that under all of that apathy was such a smartass.

"Hmm," he mumbled pulling her closer. Tentatively he put his hands on her waist and he felt her stiffen although she didn't pull away.

"Does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?" he asked watching her face for a reaction to his touch.

She seemed conflicted, seemed like she wanted to pull away but she didn't, instead leaning up to kiss him swiftly on the lips.

"I will but I have two conditions."

"And those are?"

"No cheating and most importantly no lying."

"Done."

She stared at him long and hard before she responded.

"I'll hold you to that Draco Malfoy."


	6. A Big W

Quidditch tryouts were fast approaching and Draco could practically feel the excitement in the air. A few of the younger players had taken to practising on the field sporadically and he had to admit that it wasn't a terrible idea. It had been a lazy Saturday morning and he had been feeling restless. He had absolutely no idea where Katrina was and most of his work for the upcoming week had already been completed. Mind made up, he went to his room and changed into clothes more appropriate for flying. As he re-entered the commons he addressed the rather large group lounging about there.

"If anyone is interested in practising for the Quidditch tryouts myself and a few of the other Sixth Years will be heading to the fields. You're all free to join if you're up to it."

In truth, he hadn't spoken to any of the other people in his year but he knew they'd want to get out of the damp dungeon if only for the day, an quidditch was as good a reason as any to do just that. He collected his broom before he left, heading in the direction of the field. Hoping that the weather would permit them a decent practice.

Word spread quickly and soon the pitch was filled with a variety of Slytherin students from all of the years which he had expected. What he hadn't expected, was to see the Gryffindor team approaching as well.

Landing on the pitch he approached Potter.

"What are you doing here Potter, this is a Slytherin practice."

"I hadn't realised that your daddy's money could buy you exclusive use of the school pitch."

It was Weasley who had responded, Draco scoffed in response, Potter never could fight his own battles.

"You can't have a monopoly of the field Malfoy, according to the school rules-"

"Do shut up Granger, literally no one cares, not even Weasley."

A blotchy flush mottled her cheeks and she harumphed in a very McGonagall-like manner. Huh, how fitting.

Blaise and Theodore strolled up casually to the group and Draco could admit, to himself at least, that he was glad for the support.

"What's this then?" Theodore asked. "Is this some type of bootleg invasion by the Gryffindorks and their Weasel King?"

Angry voices rose up all around them and Blaise took that moment to interject himself into the fray.

"Now, now ladies you're both pretty."

Weasley was swearing up a storm at the supposed insult while Draco simply rolled his eyes. Blaise was much too much of a drama queen for his liking.

"What do you good gentlemen, and the Weasel, say to a good old-fashioned scrim?"

Draco didn't like the idea. He'd come to the pitch with the intention of practising and seeing if there was any talent among the younger years, he had no desire to be facing off with Potter and his band of misfits but it seemed like the opposing team had no intention of leaving. It looked as though a scrimmage would be the only way that he'd be able to get on his broom.

Holding back a sigh of irritation he addressed his team.

"What say you lot? Up to whoop some Gryffindor ass?" A resounding cheer of support did much to bolster his spirits.

Potter scoffed in response. "You haven't beaten us yet Malfoy and you won't be beating us now."

Draco sneered at the dark haired boy while the Gryffindors cheered and patted Harry on the back,

"So it's settled then," Blaise interjected," we'll have a scrim. I, of course, shall be the ref."

The Gryffindors grumbled angrily that one of their own hadn't claimed the spot but as it was they knew they were treading a thin line challenging the Slytherins to the pitch. While there weren't any hard and fast rules about the use of the pitch, it was a long-established practice that whatever team got there first had exclusive use of the pitch. They'd challenged Draco's claim anyway because Harry had wanted a chance to see what they'd be up against in the coming year. While it was true enough that they'd beaten the Slytherins in years past, each year their wins were less convincing, the other team improving immensely each time.

"Fine," Harry acquiesced.

"Good, good."

Without warning and with a flick of his wand Blaise turned all of the Gryffindor's maroon tops gold. He nodded looking over his handiwork. While he hadn't been pleased to allow the Gryffindors on the pitch he'd known the benefit of a scrimmaging with them. But that didn't mean his eyes had to be assaulted by the garish colour of their house. Turning his wand on his own team he changed their jerseys to silver, it was after all, only fair.

"Now lads, let's get this show on the road.

Draco had taken a few moments to talk to the group of Slytherins before him, dividing the large group into an A, B and C team. Blaise had decided to have a series of matches to accommodate the sheer volume of people that had arrived, a ranking system clearly devised to facilitate balanced matches.

As Draco worked on setting up a game plan for the three teams, he noticed that more and more people had filtered from the school and surrounding grounds and into the stands. He realised belatedly, that they'd managed to orchestrate the first match of the Quidditch season, impromptu as it was.

The game kicked off with a lazy start, each C team starting out cautiously, mostly comprising younger inexperienced players with the addition of the respective captains as in-game coaches. Neither he nor Potter was looking for the snitch at this point, both captains had agreed to a delayed release of the golden orb so that they could get some gameplay in with their own amateur teams. As he zoomed around the pitch giving pointers to his beaters he caught sight of a large black cloud in the stands. That wasn't right, there was no way that that was Katrina. Over his many years of playing the sport, the girl had been decidedly absent, not even when she had dated Higgs had she come to his games. The only time he could recall seeing her dark skin and even darker hair in the crowd, was the one game which Blaise had subbed in on. The male twin, while undoubtedly talented on a broom never had much care for playing the sport, and had only subbed in for a chaser at Draco's request. After's Blaise's short stint in the air, Katrina had once again disappeared from the stands, until now.

She was sat sandwiched between her two friends, her skin practically glowing between the lighter brown girls. The two spoke animatedly and he could tell, despite her typical self-imposed quietness that Katrina was very much involved in the conversation. Draco hadn't realised that he had come to a complete stop and was staring directly at her until she caught him staring and smiled at him. He almost fell off his broom at the action. Her smile was absolutely brilliant, and he was struck by how much it transformed her usually serious demeanour. He smirked at her in response before turning back to the game. She had come to see him play.

The Gryffindor C team had demolished the opposing Slytherin team, Blaise had decided that the game would last a maximum of half of an hour, which Draco and Potter agreed to, not wanting the junior teams to be playing for too long. At the end of the half hour, neither team had caught the snitch but the Gryffindor chasers had been superb. They'd scored twice as many goals as the Slytherins and their keeper, as incompetent as he appeared, had been able to block more than a few of Slytherin's attempted goals.

Draco scowled. Blast Potter to hell.

Each team had taken a 15-minute break, the captains taking the time to organize their second team and giving Blaise a break from refereeing. Draco had much more confidence in his B team, they mostly comprised older students who didn't quite make the cut for the A team. They were talented and experienced on the field and by the look of the Gryffindor team, the same could not be said for them, another batch of mostly new players crowding Potter. Draco smirked, good. He'd been correct in his assessment, his second team had decimated the Gryffindors and he was proud to have led them to victory, the seeker on his second team had been brilliant, finding and catching the snitch well within an hour.

They'd taken a longer break to regroup for the final match. As the Captain, Draco had gone over their strategy at great length with his team, ensuring that each person understood their role and the plays available to them. He wouldn't lose to Potter, not this time, not this year.

As his team took to the sky to warm up for the match Draco scanned the pitch for Blaise. He quickly found the dark boy, dressed in all black, leaned up against the stands chatting away happily with one of Katrina's friends. What were their names? He'd never bothered to learn the girls' names both of them in the year above his own. He'd never had a need to know them. Looking closer Draco realised, Blaise's attention seemed to be solely focused on the girl to Katrina's right. Interesting.

Flying over the group he took her in. Katrina's hair was loose and curly today, two braids on the crown of her head pulling back the mass from her face, allowing the rest of it to engulf her shoulders. She was wearing an oversized Slytherin green sweater and black tights, she'd foregone a scarf and his eyes greedily took in her long neck and prominent collar bones. Finally reaching them his eyes met hers again and he couldn't help but grin.

"Fancy seeing you lot here," Draco said, mostly to Katrina.

The lightest of the three girls, the one to Katrina's left scoffed, "So you've finally deigned it appropriate to speak to us then Malfoy? Why's that I wonder?"

He noted that her voice, while not as deep as Katrina's was deep itself, so unlike so many of the other girls he'd spent time with. The girl to Katrina's right chimed in, leaving her conversation with Blaise in favour of poking fun at him as well.

"Indeed Marge, whatever could have led to the great and noble Draco Malfoy to grace us mere mortals with his presence?" her tone was sarcastic and biting, though much higher than her two friends.

Just what had he gotten himself into by coming over here?

Katrina made no move to defend him from their fake ire, merely sitting back and watching him. He understood what the action meant. He'd have to win over her friends on his own, she wouldn't be coming to his rescue, wouldn't bail him out.

"We all know we're drawn to Katrina's light, it's why we're all here isn't it?" Draco replied smoothly, hoping to charm the two girls much as he had so many before them.

Katrina snorted at his response and the two girls shared an almost evil smile.

"Oh mate, you've no idea what you've done," Blaise said, hand running over his face.

"Katrina's light you say?" it was the one called Marge that spoke first.

"Is that what you've got hidden in those tight pants then Kat?" the other girl asked, feigning innocence and batting her long lashes at Katrina.

Katrina elbowed her in response, fighting to keep a smile from her face, "Shut up Archie."

"No, no Katrina," Marge interrupted, "Archie is right, I for one have definitely been trying to bask in your light." She then waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Katrina who in response shook her head looking heavenward.

"You Marge, are incorrigible," the dark girl said.

"And that's why you love me."

The two girls turned their attention back to Draco, all thoughts of teasing their friend momentarily abandoned.

"So that's it then? You plan to get a good romp out of her and leave?" It was Archie who directed the question at the blond boy, all traces of humour gone. Blaise seemed to be paying particular interest in this answer, his head swivelling from Archie to Draco, staring his friend down.

Draco took a moment to compose his answer, all of the parties to this conversation seemed to be potentially volatile and the last thing he wanted to do was to piss off Katrina or set her friends against him or, Merlin forbid, have Blaise's ire directed at him during the upcoming game.

"I wouldn't have asked her to be my girlfriend if I only wanted to sleep with her. Besides, as terrifying as you lot may all be, I'm much more wary of invoking Katrina's wrath. So no, I'm not here for a quick romp."

The two girls looked at each other, coming to an unspoken agreement.

"Good," they both said in unison and he watched with amusement as Katrina seemed to deflate between the two, an invisible weight lifted from her shoulders. He was still constantly surprised with how animated she actually seemed to be when her guard was down. As much as she showed an apathetic front to the world at large, there was a much deeper, happier girl beneath it all.

Draco smiled at her as she met his eye, wanting to reassure her of his words. He'd meant it. He wasn't in it for a quick screw. He wanted to see how far this could go.

"Did you just say she's your girlfriend?" Blaise asked incredulously.

Draco had almost forgotten that the other twin was on his broom beside him. Looking at the other boy he could see that he wasn't appeased by his response as her friends had been. He was thinking of ways to mollify his volatile friend when Archie interjected.

"Come now Blaise, would you really begrudge your sister happiness? Even if it is with Malfoy?"

Draco frowned at her statement, just what was that supposed to mean?

"But he's a whore," Blaise said petulantly, no real bite behind his words, pouting at the girl he'd been flirting with before.

Archie snorted in response, fixing him with a deadpan glare. "As were you Zabini, but I gave you a chance, and you didn't see Kat being all pouty."

Blaise grumbled to himself before a garbled 'Fine' was issued. Archie smiled at the elder twin before standing from her seat to kiss him squarely on the lips.

"Good boy," she said wickedly, patting him on the head as he swatted her bum.

Katrina and Marge feigned disgust at the interaction while Draco hid his shock. Was Blaise dating someone? And Katrina's upperclassman friend no less? When had that happened?

"Don't you have a team to lead Draco?"

It was the first time that she'd addressed him since his arrival, and he couldn't help the way his pulse quickened at her attention.

"I do, but I came here to get something first."

"And what's that?" she asked, eyes dancing with barely contained mirth.

"Why, a good luck kiss of course," he said cockily. He could hear Blaise gagging beside him and Marge and Archie snickered good-naturedly.

Katrina stood, closing the short distance between them. She had to lean over the railing just a bit to reach him and he saw the barely concealed panic in her eyes as she realised what kissing him would entail. He steered his broom just a bit closer to the stands so she wouldn't have to lean over and she smiled gratefully at him. She stood on her toes to reach him, leaning up, lips oh so close to his. His eyes fluttered closed breath held in tense anticipation. He felt her lips ghosting over his, goosebumps erupting on his arms and chest at the contact.

"You're going to have to win to get a kiss from me Draco."

She'd whispered it against his lips, voice seeming to purr his name, so only he could hear, before pulling away, a wicked smile on her face.

He looked down at her, struck by just how beautiful she was in that moment, smiling impishly up at him.

"Challenge accepted Katrina. But when I win, I expect the kiss of a lifetime."

He turned and flew away before she could respond. He'd had every intention of finally beating Potter, but her challenge had fueled him. He wanted to destroy the boy now. Potty had no idea what he was in for.

Harry hadn't expected the Slytherin team to be as good as they'd been. Their chasers had quickly established a healthy lead. They'd maintained a 50 point lead from early on. Their beaters had made the task of finding the snitch neigh on impossible and then there had been Draco himself. The boy had often seemed more focused on showing up Harry than on playing the game, often watching him and then trying to beat him to the snitch. This time had been different. He'd been singularly focused on the snitch from the beginning, barely paying any attention to Harry himself which had left the dark-haired boy slightly on edge.

Something was up with Malfoy, he had to be up to something nefarious. But nothing ever came. Malfoy exercised tight, military-like control on his team, using his wand to amplify his voice to his players to remind them of plays the Gryffindors hadn't been prepared for.

Coming up to the last 25 minutes of the 2-hour game the Slytherins had managed to pull ahead even farther, they now led with a ridiculous 160 point score. Panic had briefly taken hold of Harry as he'd realised that unless he could find the snitch in the less than half of an hour that remained AND managed to somehow score a couple of quaffles against the Slytherins that they would lose. Badly.

A flash of gold to his left caught his attention and Harry's heart thundered in response to the realisation. The Snitch. Eyes trained on the erratic golden orb, Harry took off in hot pursuit, smirking to himself as he thought that they could still win against the Slytherins. He had faith that his team could score two measly goals before he caught the snitch and they'd maintain their unblemished record against the Malfoy led Slytherin team.

He got closer and closer to the snitch, focus solely on tracking the movement of the snitch, trying to determine if there was any pattern to its movements when the golden orb disappeared behind a blur of white and silver. Coming to an abrupt halt where the snitch had just been Harry turned to see what had happened.

His heart threatened to stop at the realisation. Malfoy was flying towards the centre of the pitch, fist held up in triumph, the thin golden wings of the snitch fluttering lamely in his hand before eventually folding into itself and coming to a stop.

Malfoy had won, the Slytherins had won. Harry hung his head in defeat, swearing under his breath as the Slytherins in the stands erupted in a thunderous cheer.

He had lost to Draco Malfoy.

Draco beamed from ear to ear, the claps on his back and raucous cheers of his teammates raising his spirits. He looked at the snitch in his hand in awe. They'd done it. They'd finally bested the Gryffindors. Even though it had been an unofficial match there was no denying the result. The Slytherins has absolutely decimated the Gryffindor team. 410- 110. The Gryffindors has managed to score another goal moments before he'd caught the snitch and had Potter gotten the snitch instead of him the match would have been a draw. But Potter had had no chance of beating him to the snitch.

Unlike the raven-haired boy, he'd used his entire team to his advantage. He'd been sure to familiarize himself with all of the important rules of quidditch that past summer. He was allowed to carry his wand provided he didn't use it on any of the equipment, players or spectators and while no one from his team besides him could catch the snitch, there was no rule against them keeping track of it and informing him. And so he'd devised a strategy to make use of every advantage he could fairly give himself. Each of his teammates had used a communication Charm on themselves, allowing them to communicate with each other at long distances without having to shout and they'd created code words for their plays and most importantly, for the snitch.

It was a simple plan, but it had worked flawlessly and Draco couldn't be any happier with the outcome. Breaking away from his rowdy mates he flew over to where he'd left her. She was sitting alone now, Archie and Marge noticeably missing but she didn't seem to mind, simply watching him as he approached.

He dismounted his broom when he passed the railing, the stands mostly empty as the majority of the crowd had emptied into the pitch to either celebrate or console their teams.

His breaths were quick and slightly laboured as he stood before her.

"I won," he said simply, his tone a mix of triumph and shock.

She walked to him before responding, wrapping her arms around his neck when she was finally near enough.

"I know."

She kissed him hard, and his mind reeled at the contact. It seemed he'd never get over the simple act of intimacy, at least not where she was concerned. His gloved hands gripped her waist to pull her closer and he felt her stiffen at the contact but she didn't pull away.

He smiled into the kiss. Even if she wasn't completely comfortable with the contact yet she was at least willing to accept his touch. The thought brought him no small measure of comfort.

She pulled away when she heard a series of wolf whistles from the pitch, burying her face in his silver jersey, no doubt trying to hide from all the attention their kiss had garnered.

He turned to look over his shoulder at the crowd of his housemates who were all gathered below them.

"PARTY IN THE COMMONS!" He yelled as a new wave of cheers broke out.

Turning his attention back to her he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Inhaling deeply he was warmed by the scent of caramel and cinnamon that emanated from her.

Finally deeming it safe again she looked up into his grey eyes.

"You know Draco, if you continue on like this I'll have no choice but to think that you're actually a sweetheart."

He smiled down at her, the small jab at his icy demeanour not unnoticed.

"I have my moments," was all he said before claiming her lips in another kiss.

When they'd returned to the commons sometime later everyone had been in a joyous mood. Some of the seventh and sixth years had brought out their stashes of liquor and many of the much younger kids had made themselves scarce.

Presently Draco was sat on the couch listening to Theodore tell some drunken tale, his initial elation at beating the Gryffindors had never fully died. "Draco's plan to beat those sodding Gryffindors was perfect!" he declared.

"What was his plan then Theo?" it was Astoria who had posed the question to him. The younger Greengrass sister had been hanging off his every word. Everyone knew she was infatuated with the older boy but Theodore steadfastly ignored her advances, not wanting to open that can of worms. Daphne was his ex, and he wasn't dumb enough to try to get with her sister.

Theodore looked at the younger girl and grinned goofily before placing his finger on his lips. His gestures were exaggerated and his movements sloppy.

"Shhhhh!" he hissed dramatically. "It's a secret." Theodore immediately devolved into a fit of giggles which caused Draco to roll his eyes. When Draco had devised their winning strategy a few weeks prior he'd sworn them all to secrecy at the team meeting he'd held, with failure to uphold resulting in a nasty, very visible, semi-permanent hex. The others had been reluctant to agree initially, but after a little convincing Draco had gotten them all to agree. He was sure if anyone was to break their little pact it wouldn't be Theodore, the boy was much too fond of his own looks to do such a thing.

His attention was drawn back to the present when he felt, more than saw movement to his left. Katrina was perched on the arm of his armchair. His hand was casually draped around her and her back was supported by the chair's high winged back.

She'd been wiggling around in an attempt to get more comfortable and the action had caught Draco's attention. Try as she might she couldn't seem to get comfortable and she huffed in annoyance. She felt a strong tug at her waist and suddenly she found herself sat on Draco's lap. She made no big show of the whole thing, simply looking to him for an answer but he offered nothing in the way of an explanation, not so much as sparing her a single glance. She didn't feel like fighting him on something so silly and instead settled in the crook of his arm that was draped on the chair. Wiggling around a bit more she finally got comfortable, curling up to his chest. Before she knew it she was fast asleep, wrapped in the warmth of his body and his crisp, fresh scent.

Draco hadn't been sure how she'd respond to him pulling her into his lap. It was a gamble, he knew, but most things were when it came to what she would and wouldn't allow. He'd fully expected some sort of resistance or snarky remark, but she'd simply curled into him and fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful as she slept against his chest, her normally hooded eyes closed and her plump lips slightly parted. The cold facade that she showed the world erased and in its place was her unguarded expression. Unable to stop himself he ran gentle fingers over her exposed cheek and to her neck. She visibly shivered at the touch, goosebumps claiming her skin.

He was oblivious to the four pairs of eyes that watched them, too enamoured by the dark girl in his arms to care. He drank in her bold features as she slept, his hand moving to brush a few stray wisps of hair from her face. He didn't understand how he'd gotten so lucky, but he'd be damned if he gave her up.

He awoke a few hours later with a curious weight and warmth pressed against his chest. He opened his eyes to see Katrina still snuggled to his chest, deep in sleep. Taking in his surroundings he realised that many of his mates hadn't made it to bed either, several bodies haphazardly splayed on the floor and across various pieces of furniture.

While they'd slept he'd wrapped Katrina tightly in an embrace and he took a few moments to revel in it. She was so warm, and soft and she always seemed to smell amazing. Bending a bit he pressed a kiss to her forehead and watched as she crinkled her nose, turning to bury her face in his chest. He laughed at the sight. She really was quite adorable when she was unguarded. A garbled sound coming from the mass of hair on his chest alerted him to the fact that she was trying to say something.

"What was that sunshine? I didn't quite catch that." He knew she didn't like the moniker but he didn't care.

She couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine at his deep drawl. Who knew Draco Malfoy could sound so sexy? Turning her head ever so slightly she cracked an eye open to look up at him. He was watching her closely, eyes a deeper grey than normal.

"I said, I'm still sleepy, keep your lips to yourself Malfoy."

He chuckled at her response. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she said before burying her face into his chest once more, clearly intent on going back to sleep.

He brushed her hair away from the side of her face before bending to kiss the crook of her exposed neck. She stiffened momentarily before relaxing into his touch as he nipped lightly at the sensitive skin. When a small moan escaped her lips he gripped her hip tightly. It was all he could do to keep his tenuous grasp on his control.

Tilting her head back more, she gave him better access, her breathing getting heavier as he continued. His hand crept from her hip to the sliver of exposed skin of her stomach. She flinched away from him then scrambling out of his arms to land in a tangle of limbs on the floor.

"Katrina-"

His eyes had darkened considerably and she looked away as she stood brushing herself off.

"I should get to bed." She said curtly before turning on her heel to leave.

She'd caught the hurt look on his face as she was turning to go and stopped to address him.

"I'm sorry," she said before hurrying off to her room.

He sighed deeply, dropping his head into his hands. He just didn't understand how she appeared both so self-assured and maintain such a silly insecurity.

Pansy had been awoken by the sound of the pair's conversation and had pretended to sleep as they spoke in soft tones. Her jealousy had spiked dangerously when she had heard the soft moan from the other girl, knowing it could only mean that her Draco was touching her.

Disgusting.

When she'd heard the other girl beat a hasty retreat she'd finally opened her eyes to regard the blond across from her. He held his head in his hands something she knew all too well meant he was annoyed. She padded over to him quietly, not wanting to startle him, only to offer comfort.

Standing slightly to his right she reached forward to run her fingers through his hair. She remembered how it had always calmed him when he lay on her bare chest after they'd made love. She felt him relax into her touch and couldn't help but to smile. He had always been her Draco. She knew what he liked, how to comfort him, and this newfound interest in the Zabini girl would not change that, he always came back to her.

Pansy felt a strong grip on her wrist and looked to see Draco had grabbed her. She recoiled when he looked at her, expression a disgusted sneer.

"What do you think you're doing Pansy?"

"I-I was just trying to comfort you Draco," she said lamely.

"Do I look like I need your comfort?" his tone was harsh and his grip on her small wrist tightened.

"You're hurting me," she whimpered.

He released her hand and stood from the chair. With a final look of disgust at Pansy, he scoffed, heading for his room.


	7. Mother Dear

Draco awoke tired and more than a little defeated the next afternoon. He understood insecurity, understood finding a part of yourself to be lacking. What he didn't understand was how something as silly as a little pudge on her stomach could cause her to react so violently when she was so confident in every other area. He frowned to himself. As he made his way to the door of the shared dormitory he noticed a much lighter hand thrown across a dark chest through the partially closed drapes around Blaise's four poster bed. He tried to ignore the small twinge of jealousy he felt at that moment. He just wanted to be able to hold her. He passed her door on his way to the commons and absently wondered if she was still in bed. Rounding the corner he was met with the sight of his contemplations, sat lazily in his favourite chair.

"It's about time you woke up," she sounded cheerful and his frown deepened.

He hadn't been able to shake his funk after she'd scrambled away from him yesterday. Seeing her now didn't help.

"Well, I'm awake now. Did you want something?" he knew his tone was snarky but he didn't care. He was frustrated and hadn't had the chance to get breakfast before he was confronted with the root of his frustration. He plopped down on a couch across from her, levelling her with a bored stare, grateful that the crowd from the night before had dispersed.

If she was irritated by his snarkiness she didn't show it. Instead, he watched with slight amusement as she pretended like she wasn't checking him out. He smirked. At least there was no question as to her attraction to him. Was that it then? Did she not think that he was attracted to her. He recalled what she'd said, the way she'd spoken of it had rung with an air of repetition. Was it possible that someone had told her that? That the insecurity itself had been instilled in her?

His attention was brought abruptly back to her when she snapped her fingers in front of his face. She was standing over him and he noticed for the first time that she was wearing the tiniest shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Her legs looked amazing, long and thick.

"Draco Malfoy will you look at my face when I'm talking to you?"

He looked back at her face to see her amused expression.

"Yes Katrina, what is it?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, the telltale sign of her annoyance. Instead of responding she sat squarely on his chest. Watching him closely as his breaths became ever so slightly shallower.

"Are you going to pay attention when I speak?" she asked innocently as if she wasn't aware that he was having trouble breathing when she was virtually crushing his chest.

He narrowed his eyes in return. Just why did she think he'd put up with this nonsense after bolting away from him last night? He made a move to push her off of his chest only to find that she'd grabbed both of his hands. She tsked at him in mock disapproval.

"Now now, Malfoy, play nice,"

He could see the mirth dancing in her eyes and realised she was toying with him, much as she had in class not so long ago. Ripping his hands from her grip he made another move to push her off of him only to find her straddling his waist with his hands pinned above his head. She was leaning over him, face close.

"You should ask Blaise why he got so ripped," she taunted, smiling down at the pinned boy.

He was about to resort to magic to get her off of him, his annoyance rising to new levels when she kissed him. Her kiss was demanding and he fought to bite back a moan that threatened to rip from his chest when she bit his lower lip before gently licking it. His mind felt foggy, limbs felt heavy as she carried out her torturously slow exploration of his mouth. He felt her grip on his hands loosen slightly and used her distraction to his advantage. Releasing his hands, he used them to run a gentle trail up her long legs. His nimble digits continued on their journey to grab a handful each of her ass over her barely-there cotton shorts.

When she ground her hips against him he could no longer fight the moan of pleasure that escaped him. Merlin, she felt good. She broke their kiss to look down at him, breathing noticeably laboured.

"Is that a yes then?"

"To what?" His eyes were that dark stormy grey again, voice silky and deep and she had to fight to stay on track.

She chuckled in response followed by a quick peck on the lips.

"Let me make up for last night?"

He was surprised that she was so forward, not knowing what it would entail. He couldn't deny that he was curious.

"And how do you propose to do that?"

His hands moved slowly from her ass, up her back and to their familiar place on her cheeks. He pulled her down to him for another deep kiss, more than content to spend more time underneath her, slowly exploring her body.

He broke the kiss once more to nip at her neck, wondering absently if love bites would show up on her dark complexion. Only one way to find out. He bit and sucked at her neck, hands returning to her ample bum.

"Draco," she whimpered breathlessly, her body writhing under his touch.

"Mhmm." His attention never left her neck.

"Draco, please."

He stopped then, looking up into her dark eyes, "Do you want me to stop Katrina?"

"I don't but we're in the commons in the middle of the afternoon."

"Bugger them." He said dismissively, returning his attention to her neck.

"Draacooo."

He sighed, stopping, hands resting on her hips.

"Yes, Katrina."

She loved it when he said her name, there had always been something particularly aristocratic in the way he spoke and her name felt prettier somehow when he said it.

"Go on a date with me."

When she made the proposition he already knew his answer would be yes. He knew that if things were to work out he'd need to get to know her better and what better way than to go on a date? But he wanted to make her sweat.

"And why would I do that?" he asked coolly, looking for all intents like he'd rather do anything else.

She quickly stood from his lap, looking down at him once more.

"Because," she said simply, disappearing towards her room, "I'm amazing."

He didn't know what he'd expected as a date. But it had most definitely not been this. They were hidden away inside of the Prefects Bathroom, surrounded by all manner of food and books. They were sat cross-legged on the sofa eating and talking and laughing. He'd learnt soon after his arrival that she was beloved by the elves of the castle, often giving them treats of chocolate in exchange for little tasks. Like sneaking her books, food, anything really, the room around them a testament to that. She'd talked at length about the classics of Muggle literature and her love of the muggle imagination while he had remained silent. He never spoke of his dalliances with muggle culture and had been unsure of if to divulge just how far his venture into the realm of muggle entertainment truly went. If he was being honest, she was the only one who had been aware of his fascination. They'd reminisced about their time at Hogwarts from their respective perspectives, laughing when the other gave better context to a silly moment they didn't quite understand. They'd talked about their dreams after Hogwarts and eventually they'd landed on the topic of family. He'd been the one to bring it up, saying offhandedly how he'd kill to have a sibling.

"Didn't even have to be a twin," he'd said nonchalantly, "just someone to ease the loneliness, someone to be a friend."

She'd smiled wistfully thinking of her favourite thorn in her side and he'd asked about her memories growing up. What it was like to have a brother she could always count on. Her demeanour had immediately darkened. For the first time in days she'd closed herself off to him, the stoney expression he'd seen directed at him less and less firmly in place.

"It wasn't always that way," was all she would say on the topic, refusing to so much as acknowledge any further questions about her life as a child.

He'd taken the hint, left the topic alone and instead had focused on drawing her out of the dour mood. They were sat on opposite ends of the couch, her cold feet buried under his shirt and pressed into his skin in an attempt to steal some of his warmth. Pulling them from under his shirt he yanked her feet towards him, hard, effectively dragging her body more squarely on the sofa. He quickly straddled her, waist and pinned both her hands above her head. Her expression had been shocked for all of a second before she burst into uncontrollable giggles.

He was tickling her mercilessly. And no matter how she screamed, no matter how she wriggled, she couldn't escape his hand.

"Draco stop!" it was a desperate plea between bursts of laughter to avert the attack.

Draco smiled down at her, unrelenting. "I don't think that I will Katrina."

When tears began to leak from her eyes he relented. Her face was flushed and she was fighting to catch her breath. Without a second thought he kissed her, releasing her wrists in favour of lacing his fingers through hers.

Being with her felt so pure, so right.

He was completely shocked when he suddenly found himself flat on his arse, Katrina looming over him, a look of pure evil on her face.

"Katrina," he said cautiously.

"Long live the king!" she declared before shoving him into the large sunken pool with her foot.

When he resurfaced it was to see a large goofy grin on her face which quickly devolved into a fit of giggles.

Her eyes widened to saucers when he deftly climbed out of the tub, stalking towards her.

"Draco don't!"

Her feeble attempts to run away were quickly thwarted when he grabbed her around the waist, hoisting her into the air. In a few quick strides, he was beside the pool her feet dangling close to the edge of the water.

"Any last words Katrina?"

"Don't throw me in the water!"

"Terrible last words," he said with finality before dumping her in. He watched in amusement as she struggled with her hair.

Sighing as it hung over her face she held her open hand out in the general direction she remembered him being in.

"Could you pass me my wand, please? I need to fix this," she said motioning wildly at the mass of hair on her head.

No sooner had she gotten her wand than she had righted her hair, using it to secure her long coily hair in two long braids that fell to her waist in the water. It was a style he'd never seen on her before, functioning to reveal just how long her hair really was.

Quickly stripping down to his boxers, he climbed back into the pool and waded over to her.

"You're beautiful," he'd said it barely above a whisper as he walked towards her, the water reaching just below his shoulders.

She smirked at him, "you're not the worst to look at either Draco."

"I'm serious Katrina, you are beautiful. I've thought that for as long as I could remember."

She didn't know what to say, so she continued to look at him when her back collided with an edge of the tub. She hadn't realised that she'd been backing away from him and now she was cornered between his bare chest and a side of the tub.

He reached for the bottom of her drenched sweater dress, tugging at the hem to get her attention.

"Do you plan to stay in a heavy drenched dress?" it wasn't so much a question as it was a request for her to remove it.

She paused for a moment before taking a deep breath, pulling the heavy, saturated garment over her head tossing it onto the side of the tub. She wouldn't look at him, she couldn't, not when she stood there with her ugly stomach exposed. She could feel the beginning of tears prick her eyes and she closed them quickly. She wouldn't cry in front of Draco, whether they were dating or not, it wouldn't happen.

A gentle kiss on her temple brought her gaze back to him.

"You are beautiful Katrina." His statement left no room for argument.

She didn't flinch when his hands held her by the waist but she screwed her eyes closed tightly, battling with herself to stay in the tub with him instead of fleeing. When his hands left her waist she knew that she was right, there was no way he'd want her, not looking like this. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt his hands on her cheeks, thumbs brushing away hot tears that she hadn't noticed she'd shed. Blast it all to hell.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said gently, stroking her cheeks as he spoke.

Opening her eyes once more she looked at him, the sincerity she saw there caused her pulse to quicken. Reaching onto her toes she kissed him chastely on the lips.

"Thank you, Draco."

"For what," his voice was low again, doing nothing to help her quickened pulse.

"Accepting me," was all she said before kissing him again.

She threaded her fingers through his hair, loving the feel of the silky strands.

He responded to her touch instinctively, pressing his body into hers, wanting to feel every inch of her. He reached down to grip her waist again, loving the feel of her soft body in his hands.

Pulling away from him she tried to catch her breath. She felt his hands wander further south, coming to rest under her bum before hoisting her into the air. She needed no further invitation, wrapping her long legs around his narrow waist.

His eyes were squeezed shut, pale fingers gripping the lip of the tub tightly as he struggled to keep control of himself. He hadn't been prepared for how her bare skin would feel against his, how it would feel to have her bare legs wrapped around his waist.

Taking advantage of his distraction she nipped at his neck, a deep groan emanating from his chest as his hands returned to grip her hips tightly.

"Katrina, we-"

She silenced him with a kiss, hands on either side of his face, drawing him into her. He willingly gave into her, a hand travelling from her hip to the junction between her thighs, using the pad of his thumb to apply light, even strokes.

She threw her head back, exposing her neck and thrusting her hips into his hand seeking more friction. Applying more pressure with his thumb, he licked a trail from her collarbones to her ear.

His breath was hot and oh so tantalizing in her ear.

"We should stop, Katrina."

His actions were completely contrary to his words, burying his face into her neck he moved his hand back to her hip, holding her in place, grinding his erection into her.

"Mhmm,"

It was the sudden pop to their right that startled the two apart.

"Mimsy is sorries Missus Trina, but Mimsy is hear that big Missus 'Bini is here and is looking for Missus Trina."

Mimsy was wringing her wrinkled hands nervously, hating to be the one to have to deliver the news to her Missus.

Draco felt Katrina stiffen in his arms, her legs dropping from her waist and pushing him away from her.

Her face was devoid of emotion as she turned to the small elf.

"Thank you Mimsy, do not punish yourself," she said preemptively, knowing if she didn't intervene the small creature would do just that. "I will require your presence in my room after my mother has left."

The house elf seemed to cheer up at the prospect of having a task to complete for the Missus. The old elf bowed low before disappearing with another small pop.

Her face remained apathetic, her once alive eyes seeming dead. He reached for her, wanting to comfort her and she recoiled from him as if burned.

"I need to go, Draco."

"Katrina if there's something wrong, if-"

"I don't need your help Malfoy."

She pulled her damp dress over her head while still in the water, no desire to show Draco her body despite how intimate they'd just been.

She was dripping everywhere when she clambered out of the tub, quickly using a drying charm to right herself. He watched as she quickly gathered her things, no indication that she'd just shared an intimate moment with him.

As she left without so much as a word goodbye, Draco realised that he was hurt.

She entered her dorm to find Blaise sitting alone on the edge of her bed back ramrod straight and looking straight ahead. Their mother stood in front of the window, looking down her nose at him.

"Katrina, good of you to finally join us."

As Katrina entered the room she took note of the angry imprint on her brother's face. She clenched her jaw as she turned to address her mother.

"What are you doing here mother?"

Her mother's eyes flashed dangerously but Katrina didn't care, she'd long since given up her fear of her mother.

"It would seem that your time at Hogwarts has only destroyed your manners and common sense."

When Katrina didn't respond her mother continued.

"I've come to inform you of your impending nuptials."

Looking to Blaise he showed no signs of shock. Well, that explains the slap.

"What pray tell mother, would give you the impression that I'd allow you to sell me like cattle?"

The older woman brandished her wand, closing the distance between herself and Katrina to hold the wand threateningly at her throat.

"My dear child," she said patronizingly, "as long as you're under my care, as long as you draw breaths from the body that I gave you. You belong to me."

She shouldn't have been shocked, shouldn't have doubted for a second that her mother would do something like this. But she was. The knowledge that her mother was interested only in power and advancement couldn't have prepared her for the way her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.

"And who might I ask, is to be my betrothed?" she was doing her best not to be physically ill, but it was not a battle she was sure she could win.

"Terrence Higgs."

She felt her blood run cold, and she struggled to remain upright.

"Mother, I assure you I can find a better match for myself than Higgs."

Her mother laughed condescendingly, "You think I don't know of your dalliance with the Malfoy boy?"

Katrina clenched her jaw as her mother laughed again.

"While he is, in fact, a decent choice, young Mr Malfoy is spoken for. He and young Pansy are betrothed."

"You're lying."

A wicked smile crossed her mother's face, the older woman no doubt getting enjoyment from the whole thing.

"Why would I lie Katrina? What would I gain from such an act?"

It felt as though her mother had punched her in the gut. She knew she was right, of all of her deplorable characteristics her mother was a stickler for the truth.

"Terrence will be here to collect you in one week's time. Ensure that you do not embarrass me, Katrina."

And then she was gone, leaving her two children a little more broken than she had found them.

Draco was in a foul mood when he returned to the commons. Katrina had been noticeably missing which only led his anger to spike.

"I don't need your help Malfoy."

The words played on a loop in his head, dragging him deeper into his melancholy.

He'd gone straight to his trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out a full bottle of firewhiskey. If she didn't want his help she wouldn't get it, he thought bitterly, taking a large swig of the bitter liquid.

She'd finally crawled out of her room a few hours later. She'd fallen asleep a mere half of an hour after her mother had left, her body exhausted from the onslaught of tears that poured out of her.

Now that she'd awoken she thought that she owed Draco some type of explanation. Even if she didn't tell him the full thing she owed him something. And it would be nice to have some comfort she thought to herself, a small smile on her lips.

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight she was met with when she entered the commons. Draco was sat in his usual chair, a petite brunette girl straddling his lap, his hands under her short skirt. Pansy Parkinson.

The girl in question looked up upon Katrina's entry, giggling at the pained look on her face. "Look Draco, the stupid slag's still about."

Draco's eyes slowly met hers and she knew immediately that he was drunk, his normally clear eyes glassy and distant. He smirked when he caught her eyes.

"What are you looking at then?" he asked, words slurring together. "You don't need my help remember." It was an accusation, the sneer on his face relaying his true anger.

Katrina didn't say anything, couldn't respond, she simply left the commons without looking back, Pany's giggles following her through the portrait hole.

Needing to clear her head she went to the Astronomy Tower, willing the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks to remain where they were until she was well and truly alone.

She'd barely stepped foot into the tower before she collapsed to her knees, large sobs wracking her body. A small pop to her left alerted her to the small elf's presence and she struggled to get her crying under control.

"Mimsy is come to Missus Trina earlier but Missus Trina was sleeps."

"That's okay Mimsy," she said, voice cracking with emotion, "I just have a favour to ask of you."

She'd made her request and Mimsy had quickly returned with the broom in question in hand. It was her own broom. Blaise had bought it for her some years ago as a joke, knowing her aversion to flight. She'd never flown it, not once. But she knew that simply sitting on the balcony wouldn't be enough of an escape for her in this moment. She needed to go. She needed to fly.

She dismissed the small elf and mounted the broom, feet planted to the ground with fear. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, an action meant to calm when an image of Draco and Pansy flashed before her eyes. With a final sob, she took to the air, wanting desperately to run away from her problems.

The strong wind whipped her two braids over her shoulder and Katrina could admit to herself that she'd never felt freeer. She understood now, why so many witches and wizards loved flying. It was exhilarating! Laughing she threw her arms into the air, closing her eyes and relishing in the freedom the sensation brought.

Opening her eyes once more to take in the beauty of the night she screamed. She tried to swerve, tried to dodge the massive tree but she had been too late. She rammed straight into the tree, the front part of her broom splintering on impact. And then she was falling. Weightless, with no control of her body, the cold hand of fear gripping the base of her spine.

And then it was black.


	8. Sticks and Stones

He was awoken by the terrible pounding of his head. Just what the fuck had he done to deserve this? Realization dawned on him when he saw the empty firewhiskey bottle sat on his trunk. That would explain the pounding. Movement beside him startled him back to attention, a small pale hand curling possessively across his torso. He was gripped by pure panic when he turned to look into the clear blue eyes of Pansy Parkinson. A feeling of dread settled deep in his stomach and he got up and ran to the adjoining bathroom. 

Emptying his stomach into the toilet, he tried to wrap his mind around his most recent discovery. He’d slept with Pansy. That could be the only explanation as to why she half naked in his bed. Slouching to the floor, he rest his aching head on the cool tiles. Things had been going so well with Katrina why-. It hit him like a tonne of bricks, she had rejected him and he had been hurt. Which explained the firewhiskey and the wicked hangover he was suffering from now but it didn’t explain Pansy.

Picking himself off the floor he flushed the toilet, quickly rinsed his mouth and returned to the shared room. Pansy was laying sprawled across his sheets in an attempt to seduce him. “We never did finish Draco,” she cooed, slipping a single strap of her bra from her shoulders. A wave of relief flooded his body at her words. He hadn’t slept with her. Thank Merlin! But there was still the matter of how the girl had gotten into his bed.

“What are you doing in my bed Pansy?”

Her smile fell just a bit at his cool tone, “you finally came to your senses and got rid of Zabini last night and brought me back here.”

Her admission left him floored. There was no way he’d have done that. Right? But then how did Pansy get there, half naked, in his bed? His head throbbed more in response.

“Just get out,” he said as he sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. He flinched away when her small hands touched his back,

“But Dra-”

“GET OUT!” he bellowed, standing to fix her with a deathly glare.

She scrambled to put her clothes on and quickly left the room. What had he done?

Looking to the far right of the room a new sense of dread filled his heart. He shared a room with Blaise, there was no way the boy had gone to breakfast yet, it was much too early for him.

He got out of bed slowly and walked to the dark boys bed. Blaise was gone. He heaved a sigh of relief. At least that was one less thing he had to deal with right now. Returning to the bathroom he downed a bottle of pepper up potion, stripped and stepped into the scalding water of the shower. He’d need his wits about him if he had any chance of coming out of the end of the day alive. He didn’t think he could face either of the twins today,

 

Breakfast was a quiet affair, both of the twins noticeably missing. He’d asked Theodore when they’d left the hall if he’d seen Blaise or Katrina but the boy had said no before hurrying off to his first class.

He frowned, it was unlike either of the two to miss breakfast and he wondered if their mother’s visit the previous day was for them to return home. When he noticed the two were still absent during their first shared class he determined that that must have been it.

It was on his way to lunch that he’d first got a glimpse of Blaise and he didn’t know whether to go to him or to stay away. Wanting to know where Katrina was but unsure of how much the other boy knew. His decision was taken away from him when he saw the haunted expression on his friends face. Something wasn’t right. 

“Where’s Katrina, Blaise?” it was a simple enough question but when Blaise’s expression only soured more his dread increased tenfold.

“She-she’s in the infirmary, mate.”

He’d barely registered the words before he took off down the halls in the direction of the castle’s infirmary. He could only hope that she was alright. 

His heart sank when he saw her, the entire right side of her face was bruised and cut, the pale white bandages the medi-witch had wrapped her in a stark contrast to her skin, which seemed paler somehow, almost greyed.

He approached cautiously, unable to tear his eyes away from her. What had happened to her? Had this been his fault? Pansy’s words were ringing in his ears. Had he really ‘gotten rid of her’?

He was afraid to touch her, she seemed so small in the enormous bed. So small and so broken.

“She had an accident with her broom last night,” Blaise’s sudden appearance had startled him and he jumped back from her as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. As if he’d been caught with Pansy. His stomach lurched. “Luckily the half-giant found her and brought her here.”

Draco looked from Blaise to Katrina, “Her broom?” His voice sounded small and broken, even to his own ears.

Blaise sighed, “It’s my fault really, I’d gotten it for her a few years back as a joke. I knew she’d never ride it so I didn’t see the harm. I didn’t even know she’d brought it to Hogwarts.”

If he was blaming himself it meant that the other boy didn’t know what had transpired between them the night before. He thought he would have felt relieved but how could he when she lay before him, broken. Because he couldn’t handle her rejection.

“I should’ve kept a better eye on her after mother had left, but I’d been so caught up in my own pain I just left her on her own.”

A sniffle broke his attention away from Katrina to look at his long-time friend. He’d never seen the boy cry over the years, no matter the situation. To see his normally strong friend so broken, and because of him no less felt like a kick to the gut.

“Blaise, I-”

It seemed like Blaise had a lot to get off of his chest and he just plowed through Draco’s words.

“She’s always stood up for me where mother was concerned, you know?” 

An empty laugh left the dark boy as he sat on an edge of her bed, reaching to take her bandaged hand in his own.

“Mother’s never much cared for us, not really. Not the way a mother should. We were her investment in a future.”

Draco was taken aback by his words. He’d suspected that hers and her mother’s relationship had been strained but he hadn’t expected for there to be no relationship there at all.

The other boy continued, “I never liked the men, the husbands. Katrina didn’t care one way or the other, she just wanted mother’s approval. So I’d lash out at them, for taking mother away from us.”

Draco recalled all the stories Blaise had told over the years about how he played pranks on his mother’s suitors. Blaise’s admission had brought new light to the whole thing. While Blaise often laughed and joked about his exploits Draco could see now that they were a plea to his mother for attention, for love.

“She didn’t like that, mother, and I’d often endure her wrath as a result of my misdeeds.” He laughed bitterly, “At least she was paying attention to me right?” He shook his head, bringing his free hand to run over his face.

“After a certain point Katrina wouldn’t allow it. She’d put herself between mother and I, she’d never let her hurt me.” A broken sob punctuated his words and Blaise hung his head low, hot tears falling from his cheeks onto her bandaged hand. “I was supposed to be her big brother, I was supposed to be there for here but I never had the courage to stand up to mother.”

“Eventually the pranks got stealthier, I couldn’t stand seeing her beaten because of me, but I couldn’t stand the men either, until one day I stopped altogether. It had been a relatively harmless prank but mother didn’t see it that way. She was incensed, a woman bent on rage. She -” his voice cracked, another sob threatening to completely destroy his resolve.

“She crucioed her,” his voice was a whisper and Draco almost believed he’d misheard him, would have believed he’d misheard him if Blaise hadn’t broken down into a flood of uncontrollable tears.

“I’m so so sorry Katrina, I’m so sorry.” It was a mantra, the dark boy sobbing openly into their joined hands, words becoming unintelligible.

Draco felt sick. Realization hitting him square in the chest. He’d thrown her aside when she’d needed him the most. Her rejection yesterday wasn’t so much about him as it was about her own demons. Their demons, he realised belatedly. How could he have expected her to open up about something so dark when he couldn’t even admit to her that he liked muggle entertainment. This, all of this, was his fault. She lay there, broken and bruised, because of him.

Madame Pomfrey chose that moment to walk into the room. Draco’s world was spinning and he placed a steadying hand on the table beside Katrina’s bed.

“I’m so sorry for your pain, both of you,” the older woman said. “But Miss Zabini needs her rest.”

If Blaise had heard the older witch he showed no inclination, bawling unabashed.

“Do-do you know when she’ll wake up Madame Pomfrey?” Draco asked, hoping beyond hope that she’d be okay.

The woman gave him a pitying look a small frown marring her face. “It’s hard to say Mr Malfoy. While most of her injuries are superficial, I’m afraid Miss Zabini has sustained quite an injury to her head. And I’m afraid that no amount of magic can cure the brain.”

Draco nodded solemnly, looking back to the girl that meant so much to him. He’d done this.

“I’ll give you two ten more minutes, then I’m afraid you’ll both have to leave.”

The next ten minutes felt like an eternity. Blaise just sobbed quietly as Draco watched her sleep.

Draco was to return to class after lunch but he couldn’t. He couldn’t focus, couldn’t think, couldn’t function so he’d gone to the Astronomy Tower to be alone.

 

Pansy Parkinson was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. She knew to get Draco back she’d have to use his own mistakes with Zabini against him. And she didn’t doubt there’d be mistakes, for his many virtues Draco was emotionally inept. He hadn’t so much had relationships as as he did sexual partners and she had no doubt that his inexperience would come to bite him in the ass. 

So when she’d found him sulking in the commons, nursing a half empty bottle of firewhiskey she knew she needed to take her opportunity. She’d sat on the arm of his chair, much as Zabini had, gently stroking his hair as he vented about anything that came to mind. It didn’t escape her notice that he avoided talking about Katrina and she’d allowed herself a small smile at the realization.

When he attempted to stop drinking she’d put the bottle back in his hands, telling him that sometimes they all needed an escape. And when he gave her a sloppy smile and a slurred ‘You’re right’ she knew that he was more than suggestible enough. 

She’d climbed onto his lap and kissed him. She could tell that he was reluctant. He’d put his arms on her waist in a feeble attempt to push her off and she’d simply redirected his touch, moving his hand under her skirt. 

When he opened his mouth, no doubt to protest she’d covered it with her own. She couldn’t allow him to back out. She’d looked behind her when she heard a small gasp, no doubt in her mind that it was Katrina. Good.. 

“Look Draco, the stupid slag’s still about.” 

She hoped he’d take the bait, hoped he was drunk enough to let his true feelings show.

“What are you looking at then?” he asked, words slurring together. “You don’t need my help remember.” It was an accusation, the sneer on his face relaying his true anger.

Pansy smiled to herself, everything would work out just fine. Her smile morphed to giggles as the girl left the room.

Looking back at Draco she saw that he was frowning, saw how his anger at the other girl morphed to pain upon her departure.

“I should go to bed,” he mumbled quietly, struggling to extricate his inebriated body from beneath Pansy.

“Don’t worry Draco, I’ll help you.”

He didn’t fight her when she steadied him, merely leaning gratefully into her. When they reached his room he’d flopped onto his bed, falling asleep. She didn’t give it a second thought, quickly divesting them both of most of their clothes. 

She’d try again in the morning.

 

On the second day of Katrina’s hospitalization she still showed no signs of waking. Blaise sat by her bedside day and night reading her various muggle books. Draco had recognized some of them and his chest had tightened painfully with the thought.

The third day was much like the two before, but for two exceptions. Her bruises and cuts had been fully healed and the bandages removed and Blaise had crawled into bed with her, one of her hands sandwiched between his as he wept.

On the fourth day most of the school had become aware of Katrina’s condition and a horde of nosey ‘well wishers’ had invaded the sanctity of her room. Archie and Marge had shooed them away, both girls becoming permanent fixtures at that point.

It was on the fifth day of her stint in the infirmary that Pansy had showed up. Archie and Marge had gone to the Great Hall to get food for everyone. Blaise hadn’t so much as moved from the bed. He should have known better, should have warned the dumb girl away after finding her in his bed. If he had she wouldn’t have come to the infirmary. She wouldn’t have alerted Blaise to his stupidity. And he’d still be allowed to see her.

Six days into Katrina’s extended slumber Draco had sat outside of the infirmary, hoping to steal a glimpse of her as people came and went. He’d long since stopped caring about school, long since stopped caring about his appearance. His eyes were hallowed and dark, his hair disheveled. Earlier that day Archie had emerged to give him a dressing down but he didn’t care. He only cared if she woke up. And she didn’t.

He’d been exhausted on the seventh day. He’d stayed in bed. He couldn’t motivate himself to get up. One week since Katrina had been hospitalized. He heaved a deep sigh before pulling himself out of bed. He needed to see her. Needed her to wake up. 

He heard her before he saw her, her deep voice trailed down the hallway, smaller and weaker from disuse but still her. His heart raced and he picked up his pace. She was awake. He rounded the corner into the infirmary not caring that Blaise didn’t want him there, didn’t care about her friends’ anger. She was awake. And then he saw him. Terence Higgs. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, a ridiculously large bouquet of roses in one hand, her limp hand in his. She hated roses, he recalled suddenly, the conversation they’d had in the Prefect’s Bathroom felt like a lifetime ago. When her eyes finally met his he almost collapsed. She was awake. His heart felt frozen, stopped in its beating. He hadn’t expected the absolute nothingness he got from her. No smile, no greeting, no acknowledgement, no anger, no pain. Nothing. 

“Oh Malfoy, here to see my lady are you?” asked Higgs, who smirked at the blond. Blaise was sat in a chair by her bed, countenance grim.

His lady? She didn’t say anything, didn’t look away, just held his gaze as Higgs continued.

“No one’s told you then?” Higgs asked, a smug tone colouring his voice.

“What’s that then?” Draco asked, still refusing to break the gaze they held.

Terence smirked.

“We’re engaged.”

He couldn’t describe what he was feeling in that moment. Couldn’t put to words the way Higgs’ words had stolen his breath, kicked him about the head and left him a bloodied heap in front of her. How her eyes, still void of anything seemed to accuse him. For as long as he lived, he’d never be able to explain how panic had gripped him as he finally broke eye contact to look and her hand, in his. There was an ostentatious ring sat on her finger. 

He had thrown her away and she had accepted another.

 

“Tell me it’s not true. Tell me you’re not going to marry him.” He practically begged, turning his attention once more to her.

Draco hadn’t realised that he’d spoken until the words hung like nooses in the air.

“Terence has asked me to wed him and I have agreed.”

He took note of how her eyes seemed to flash with some unnamed emotion before returning to the dull, dead stare she’d had since his arrival. Of how her lips seemed pinched, words clipped and tone strikingly aristocratic.

This wasn’t the Katrina he knew. She wouldn’t go running back to someone who had cheated on her. If it was one thing that had been clear from their brief dalliance was that she valued loyalty and commitment above all else. His heart clenched at the thought of his own betrayal. No, not even that would push her back into the arms of Higgs.

He had to get her to see sense. “This isn’t you Katrina, this-”

It was a cold feminine laugh that cut him off and he had to fight himself to contain the shiver of unease it created.

“And what would you know of me Draco?”

Even the way she said his name felt wrong. 

“Katrina I-”  
“I believe you’ve said enough Malfoy,” Higgs said, rising from his spot on her bed, “It’s time that you saw yourself out.”

He watched in disbelief as neither twin did anything to stop Higgs. He knew they both disliked him, maybe even hated him, why would Katrina get engaged to him? Before he was unceremoniously kicked out he’d witnessed the most devastating part of the whole ordeal.

Blaise had reached for his sister’s hand, face the picture of pain, a need for comfort, for reassurance clear in his demeanour. As he’d clasped her hand in his she’d snatched it away as if burnt, eyes still focused dead ahead, not once acknowledging that her brother was there.

Something was very wrong.


	9. Separation

Blaise didn't know what to do with himself. Didn't know how to speak. Didn't know how to breathe. He didn't know how to _exist_ without her. Katrina. His twin. She'd awoken bare moments before Higgs' arrival. Her disorientation had been brief before she withdrew into herself completely. He'd never witnessed it from her before, such complete withdrawal. Total disassociation. Nothing in their past 17 years together had marked such a complete removal of self. She wouldn't even look at him. Eyes staring blankly ahead, glossy with unshed tears.

Then he had arrived. Terrence Higgs. The man she was to marry.

He'd swept into the room and made a big production about her condition and her health. An inappropriate comment about her 'at least being somewhat presentable' tossed out with little care for her feelings. Katrina hadn't flinched. Hadn't so much as acknowledged that he'd said anything, eyes still blank. Still staring dead ahead.

The older boy had gone on for some time about himself and all that he had accomplished after leaving Hogwarts. He had been brought on as a junior in his family's company and was making his way through the ranks.

Then came to the topic of their engagement. Higgs had told her that he expected her to lose weight if she was to be his bride, that there was no way he would marry a cow and Blaise had felt his blood boil. He was about to lay into the other man when she had simply agreed, all the while, staring blankly ahead.

He didn't understand. Couldn't understand. Why would she accept? Why would she go along with this? With his cruel words and his clear disregard for her and her feelings? Why?

And then it struck him like a freight train.

She was doing it for him. She did it so that he wouldn't have to. She was still protecting him.

He'd never thought that their mother would push such a thing on them, would never have fathomed that she would marry them off to the highest bidder but Katrina must have known. She hadn't been surprised at their mother demanding that she marry, she was surprised that it had been Higgs.

Draco's sudden appearance in the infirmary brought a mix of emotions to the fore. On the one hand, he hated the boy's role in his sister's hospitalization, hated the way he had hurt her but he knew it had been nothing like her relationship with Higgs and had accepted the boy's brief presence in the infirmary as a welcome distraction from the horror that was unfolding before him.

Her relationship with Higgs had destroyed her. The summer months following their break up had seen her withdrawn and detached. She'd lost weight rapidly, secluding herself to the house, the only one she allowed to see her was him, and that had been because he would brook no argument to the contrary. She had been wasting away before him, her eyes sunken and haunted when Marge and Archie had stormed the house at his request.

He'd never been more grateful to see the two and they had whipped her back into shape. It took much of the remaining time off from school and a few months into the new school year before she'd be herself again.

And now here she was, subject to the abuse again. All because she wanted to save him. When she recoiled from his touch as if burnt it confirmed his worst fears.

Blaise had lost Katrina.

The tears never fell.

* * *

She was leaving the Great Hall alone when he entered for breakfast early on Monday morning. He had been hoping to see her, hoping to talk her out of this madness and Draco almost hadn't recognized her. Her hair was bone straight and hung down her back to brush behind her knees. Her face seemed clearer somehow and it took him a moment to notice that she was wearing a considerable amount of makeup, at least for her. It was disconcerting, seeing her like this, so much like herself and yet not. There was no denying her beauty, her high cheekbones accentuated by powders and her now straight hair not obscuring her face but it didn't feel right. He felt as though he was looking at a caricature of her, a version of her that someone who didn't know her had drawn up. Her full lips were painted a bright red, a red that was very familiar. His heart threatened to break when he realised where he'd seen it before. It was the same lipstick that Daphne wore.

* * *

All day she avoided them. All of them, Blaise, Archie, Marge, Draco. She had no use for them, any of them. Not when she was faced with what lay ahead. A life with Terrence Higgs. None of them knew of the full extent of her relationship with him. How he belittled her, tore her down to nothing only to build her back up to be the person he wanted. It had happened gradually, his rebuild. Little comments here and there said in jest and then more often and with greater emphasis until she had morphed into someone she didn't entirely recognize. He had destroyed what it had always meant to be her. Then he'd cheated, left her for another, a more complete version of what he was looking for. He'd stolen her sense of self and then left her broken and forgotten. And now, now she was to marry the man that had so easily destroyed her. She was to give herself, fully and forever to a man that would never love her, that would only see where she lacked. As much as it hurt her to do it she would. She'd do it again and again until the day she drew her last breath if it meant that Blaise didn't have to bend to the will of their mother.

She would do anything for him.

She would let herself be broken a thousand times before she let their mother destroy Blaise's light.

* * *

It was as he was leaving the common room in search of Katrina that Pansy had stopped him. He didn't have the time for these shenanigans. He hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of her all day. Katrina. It bothered him how much she looked like herself and yet not. There was no denying that she was still beautiful but it just wasn't _her_. The lipstick, the hair, the uniform. She looked like a dark carbon copy of the girls he knew she hated. He couldn't understand why.

And then there was the matter of her and Blaise. Over the years the twins had had their disagreements, they'd fought and they'd made up. It was nothing like this, Blaise had completely withdrawn into himself. His eyes seemed hollow, his actions lacked life, he seemed like a puppet on strings. Going through the jerky motions of life at the whim of an unseen master. He watched quietly as Blaise watched her, pain evident on his face. But Katrina was unphased, not even Archie and Marge could spark anything in her. She was closed off from all of them.

"Draco I'm talking to you!"

His eyes lazily trailed back to the face of the short brunette in front of him. Pansy. He still had the urge to punish her for her role in all of this. In pushing Katrina away. But how could he punish Pansy when he'd let himself be led; when he'd given into the stupid bint.

"What is it, Pansy?"

He didn't have the energy for this. As soon as he could get away from her the sooner he could find Katrina, could see about getting her back to the way she was. To see reason.

The girl before him stomped her foot as she so often did when she was being petulant and craved attention.

"Draco I am your betrothed! You will speak to me in a manner fitting of my station or I will-"

"Or you'll what?"

His voice was menacing as he closed the distance between them, her back pressed up against a wall of the common room.

"What will you do Pansy that you think will have the effect of bending me to your will?"

He enjoyed the way she shrunk in on herself at his inquisition, how she tried to escape the heat of his anger by melting into the wall.

"I will call your father! I-I-"

She fumbled helplessly for words at the dark smirk that crossed his face. Why was he smiling? She was the one with the power in this situation! She was the one that would be getting what she wanted! Both of the families had agreed. He _belonged_ to her.

She jutted out her chin defiantly and gave him her best snooty impression.

"As your future wife, it would do you well to respect me."

His humourless laugh cut the tense air around them momentarily.

"I will NEVER marry you. I would rather die, rather take Greggory as my bride before I tie myself to you."

Her chin wobbled at his words and he could see that her eyes were becoming glassy. _Good_ , it wouldn't take much more.

"You were nothing to me, no more than a quick release."

The damn of tears that she had been holding back burst forth and she brought her small hands to her face, sinking to the floor in an ugly fit of tears.

The sneer was still plastered on his face as he turned to leave when his heart stopped cold in its beating.

Katrina.

She stood just inside of the portrait hole, watching his interaction with Pansy unabashed. It was clear that she had wiped the makeup from her face and her hair was pulled into two braids reminiscent of their time in the Prefects bathroom. Her skin looked dewy, refreshed like she'd just had a swim and it struck him that she probably had, the smell of cinnamon and caramel stronger than usual. But it was her eyes that turned his blood to ice. She was looking at him with a hatred that he'd never seen directed at him before. But at least she was regarding him with something other than a dead stare.

Stepping away from Pansy he approached her, cautiously, much like you would a cornered animal.

"Katrina-"

And just like that, the spell was broken, her expression closed off and the lifeless gaze slid firmly in place. She stepped away from him in response to her name, averting her gaze before attempting to walk around him.

He reacted without thinking, something he'd come to realise was a side effect of being around her, grabbing her hand to keep her there. He couldn't let her leave. Couldn't let this cesspool of pain continue to swirl around all of them.

His skin burned where he touched her but he wouldn't pull away from her, couldn't. He had to make her understand. What he wasn't prepared for was the sudden weightlessness that overtook his body, much like flight but far more out of his control. He looked around frantically for something to grab, something to hold onto, anything to keep him grounded but found nothing. The wind was stolen from his lungs when his back collided hard with the high vaulted ceiling, the feeling of tight ropes pulling him from above. He squeezed his eyes shut at the impact, a grunt escaping his lips.

"KATRINA STOP!"

It was Blaise, his saviour and for the first time since he'd touched her, Draco looked to where she stood. Her hair had fought free of the braids and was a giant cloud of curly rage around her, dancing on an unseen wind. She was a thunderstorm. Most peculiar though was that her eyes were blank, the dark disks of her irises missing.

"Katrina please."

He'd barely heard the other twin's plea above the crackling rage that surrounded her, barely registered the way the look of pain had crossed her face before she'd released him from the ceiling. He was falling, fast, and he knew from a height like this he'd be lucky if he escaped with a few broken bones. But the impact never came. Blaise had saved him again.

And Katrina was gone.

* * *

Blaise hadn't thought twice about intervening to save Draco from the full extent of Katrina's wrath. It was his job to protect her. He was her big brother, even if it was only by a few minutes. She had always protected him, had always shielded him from what the world threw his way, so if he needed to protect her from herself he would.

But now in the face of the pain that crossed her face as she regarded them both, he wasn't so sure that intervening had been the right idea. He'd felt it as if a part of him had withered away when she looked at him. Had seen as her eyes had coloured once more how hurt she was that he would protect Draco and he knew in an instant what she thought. She thought he'd chosen his friend over her.

Then she'd released him from the roof and watched, watched to see what he would do and he'd reacted again without a second thought, he'd caught Draco with a spell and returned him safely to the ground. He knew Draco wouldn't have died, a few broken bones and scratches would be all he'd sustain but he couldn't control the impulse to save him. He knew despite her anger, despite her pain she didn't want to maim Draco, her impulses had taken over. So he'd protected him in an attempt to protect her from herself.

But now, as he watched her disappear around the corner and no doubt into her room, he knew he'd unwittingly picked a side.

* * *

When Draco didn't see Katrina at breakfast or lunch for the next few days he knew that things had gotten worse. She had never been a big eater, unlike her brother, who as he'd heard her say in the past, was a bottomless pit, but she did enjoy treats. She and Blaise had deciphered the school's seemingly random food schedule sometime in their second year so she'd always know when her favourite treats would be served. He remembered the two taking copious notes alone for what felt like forever, excluding him and everyone else from their secretive huddle, the two giggling uncontrollably ever so often. Then one day Blaise had pulled him aside to share their discovery. They had cracked the code on treats. Draco had rolled his eyes as soon as Blaise had filled him in. He had no need for such silly things, he could just get his father to send him what he wanted. He didn't understand why the twins couldn't do the same, they were rich purebloods just as he was. Surely their mother or father would send them treats. Blaise had gotten quiet at his suggestion before brushing off his words. Nothing else was ever said about the Treat Sheet but he knew from watching her, that she had a massive sweet tooth, with a soft spot for all things caramel. So when two days that week caramel treats had been aplenty and Katrina had been noticeably missing, he began to worry in earnest.

He waited outside of the hall for a chance to get Blaise alone and wasn't disappointed when the sullen boy dragged himself from the large dining area towards his first class. Blaise didn't put up a fuss when Draco dragged him away from the main area, just followed the blond boy in silence, head down, feet dragging.

"Why hasn't Katrina been at breakfast?" Draco asked. He didn't have the time or the energy to beat around the subject.

If Blaise had heard him he showed no indication, the dark boy staring off into the distance without so much as a twitch of acknowledgement. Draco took him by the shoulders to get his attention, shaking him slightly.

"Mate, where's Katrina been?"

Blaise shrugged off his hands, an angry scowl marring his face.

"How the fuck would I know, I haven't seen her. And I'm not your fucking mate Draco."

"What do you mean you haven't seen her, she's your twin for fuck's sake."

Blaise rounded on him now, pulling himself to his full height and glowering at the paler boy.

"You think I've forgotten that have you? Well since I saved your arse from falling in the commons, I've only seen her in class." He punctuated his last statement with a shove to Draco's chest, the other boy stumbling back quite a bit.

"You haven't seen her since then?"

"No." The word hung heavy in the air, Blaise's shoulders slumping once more. "She wants nothing to do with me."

Draco had never seen the other boy so broken. Ever the joker Blaise often did a fine job of laughing off his pain, or at least pretending to until he really got over whatever was bothering him. To see him like this, so pained and dejected was scary.

"And you just left her then? You just left her on her own?" The words were an accusation, not a question. Draco was angry, and Blaise was the only one he could take it out on, the only one who would understand.

"I picked you," Blaise whispered, looking once again out at nothing.

" _What?!"_

Draco couldn't hide his incredulity, couldn't wrap his mind around the words that Blaise had said.

Blaise sighed, tiredly rubbing his face. "Katrina, she thinks I picked you. When I intervened in the commons." He faltered for a moment, a pinched look on his face, "she thinks I saved you over her. She thinks I broke our bond."

Draco didn't understand, couldn't understand. The way he saw it, Katrina was hurting and Blaise had just left her.

"You left her because you helped me?"

Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose, screwing his eyes shut and Draco was struck for the first time by how similar the two really did look.

"Listen Malfoy, because I will only be explaining this the once. Katrina and I, all we have, all we've ever had, is each other. No daddy to bail us out of trouble or mommy to dote on us," Blaise spat bitterly, "all we've ever had is the other.

"What you saw," he began shakily, eyes darting around suspiciously. Blaise looked at the other boy seriously before continuing, voice hushed. "What you saw was Katrina at her lowest. What you saw is what happens when she loses her grip on her control."

Draco thought back to the night in question, the way the very room around her crackled audibly with uncontrolled energy, how his hand had been burned on contact and the way her eyes had lost all colour. The way she didn't need to use a wand to do it.

"I was trying to protect her from herself. When she gets like that, there isn't much you can do to calm her."

A thought struck Draco like lightning.

"That morning when Pansy insulted your mother…"

Blaise nodded, "she still had a grasp on her control then but it's along the same lines. When she gives in to powerful emotions it can have similar results."

"But McGonagall intervened that morning, does that mean that McGonagall has some sway over her then."

Blaise looked at Draco from the corner of his eye, calculating just how much he should say given that Katrina wouldn't want anyone to know about this. But then he considered the alternative. Losing her altogether.

"McGonagall isn't the one that calmed her down Draco."

Blaise let his words hang heavy in the pause that followed, watching the other boy chew them over. When astonished pale grey met brown he knew that he finally understood.

" _Me?_ "

Blaise nodded.

Draco swallowed hard, mulling over his words.

"But if I have some sway over _whatever_ it is that happens to her then why'd she turn on me?"

Blaise deflated again, "You hurt her Draco, more than she's willing to admit, probably even to herself. Me saving you, that hurt her too." Blaise sighed again, this conversation was clearly taking a toll on him.

"I've never challenged her on her decisions when she gets like that, I just let her work it out on her own. But I knew if I let her rage blind her, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself, I had to stop her before she destroyed who she is."

Draco knew what he wasn't saying. ' _I had to stop her before she destroyed you._ ' He paled at the thought.

"Do you think I can get through to her?"

Draco was waiting for Blaise's response when he had the distinct feeling of being watched. He looked up from where he and Blaise stood alone to meet the eyes of Katrina. This time no emotion flashed in her eyes or across her face, this time she didn't respond. She simply looked from him to Blaise, turned promptly on her heel and disappeared the way she came.

From Blaise's expression he could tell the other boy had seen her too, he looked like the gentlest wind would scatter him.

"I don't know Draco, but someone has to


	10. Master Malfoy

Draco knew her last class that day was Potions. He knew that, because they were in that class together. He needed to find a way to get her to hang behind after class. So when Katrina had been paired with Weasley Draco just knew that the bumbling idiot would fuck up their potion. Hopefully, it would be enough to warrant a talking to from his godfather.

The cauldron the unlikely pair had been using suddenly exploded covering the weasel in a sickly green liquid, Katrina sitting unbothered at their workstation. He wasn't disappointed when Severus swept over to the pair.

"I had hoped, Miss Zabini, that your prowess in potions would be enough to save this endeavour. I see now that I was _mistaken._ "

She remained silent, eyes trained on her parchment, appearing for all the world that she hadn't even heard Snape. That seemed to set the potions master off, all thoughts of the apparent affection he held for the younger twin gone.

"See me in my office after class Miss Zabini, Mr Weasley. 30 points from Gryffindor."

Snape didn't wait for a response, returning to the front of the class to complete the lesson.

* * *

Draco was leaned against the door of the potions class about half an hour later. The weasel had left about 5 minutes ago but he still hadn't seen Katrina and he was beginning to get antsy. He knew she wouldn't lash out at Snape but with the way she was quickly devolving before his eyes her continued absence left him on edge.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a small laugh from the door on his left directly before he saw her. She was backing him, addressing Snape, and hadn't seen him yet and he felt his heart squeeze painfully. He hadn't heard that sound for weeks. And if he was being honest, he was beginning to think that there was a distinct chance that he'd never hear it again.

"Thank you for your insight, Professor."

Her voice was light and he could still hear the warmth of a smile there, colouring her words. He'd never thought himself capable of being jealous of the imposing man that was Severus Snape but here he was, green with envy as his godfather brought her joy that she seemed so intent to keep at bay.

She turned around to leave and for the briefest moment, before she properly registered that he was there, he saw that she seemed lighter somehow, the weight of her situation no longer bearing down on her. All of that changed as soon as her eyes landed on him and Draco was winded.

There was nothing in her eyes for him but pure contempt, every trace of the warmth she'd bestowed on Severus was gone. Every whispered kiss between them had evaporated and in its place was just raw hatred. She didn't attempt to hide it, didn't attempt to conceal her contempt, her top lip curling in a sneer that rivalled his own before she sidestepped him and continued down the hall.

He was frozen in his spot, unable to reconcile the emotions he saw in her eyes with the way she'd kissed him all those weeks ago. He snapped himself out of his daze before he could wallow any more, there was a reason he'd waited for her here. He needed to speak to her.

Turning the way she'd departed he hurried after her, hoping to catch her before she disappeared again. Before long he broke into a run, desperately hoping beyond hope that she hadn't reached the stairs yet. He caught a glimpse of her dark skin down the hallway and he increased his stride to a sprint. Her name falling from his lips before he could stop himself.

"Katrina please."

To his utter surprise, she stopped, back straight as a pin, waiting for him to catch up. When he finally came to a stop behind her she didn't move, didn't turn to face him, she just stood there.

"Katrina I need to speak to you, please." He knew he sounded weak, his voice pleading, pathetic even to his own ears.

"Then speak, Malfoy. No one is stopping you."

"I'd rather not speak to you out in a hallway where all and sundry are privy to our conversation."

She didn't respond and he was beginning to think that she had changed her mind as she started to walk away. Relief flooded him when she entered an unused classroom and waited for him to enter.

He followed quickly behind her, locking and warding the door when he did, knowing that he couldn't afford to be interrupted, not now that she had finally agreed to speak to him. Turning to face her he drank her in. She was as far away from him as the room would allow but there was no denying her beauty. Her hair was straight again, all of it tumbling down over her right shoulder and the makeup was back. Looking at her closely he could see that there was something else, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

The silence stretched on between them, she seemed perfectly fine not saying anything to him, eyes averted from him as she sat.

He cleared his throat, shifting weight from one foot to the other. He'd played this situation over in his mind countless times and he'd thought he was prepared to talk to her, but now that she was here before him, acting for all intents like he wasn't in the room he was at a loss.

"Katrina, I'm so sorry."

He watched her face for a reaction and his pulse raced when her dark eyes shifted over to him. They were empty again, no spark whatsoever there. No contempt, no hatred, nothing.

"Is that so?" She asked blandly.

"Katrina, you have to know that I never meant to hurt you."

Her laugh was cold and listless, her very dead eyes still trained on him.

"Yes Malfoy, because fucking Parkinson was sure to leave me overjoyed. I was simply buzzing with joy when you threw your promise in my face. Really, I was beside myself with glee."

His heart dropped to his stomach. He didn't think it was possible for it to be worse than it already was but he was mistaken. She thought that he'd slept with Pansy.

He took a step towards her, wanting to comfort her. Needing her to understand the situation. "Katrina after everything we shared with each other I would _never_ sleep with Pansy. "

Her eyes flashed dangerously, her dark irises flickering to white momentarily, and he became acutely aware of just how precarious of a position he was in. He'd cornered her in a room, apologizing and all the while appearing to do both of the things he'd promised he'd never do. He swallowed thickly.

She stood abruptly, making to leave. "I don't know why I entertained this folly."

"I swear on my magic, Katrina. I didn't sleep with Pansy."

She stood between him and the door, her wrist in his hand. He could feel her skin heating up much as it did the night in the common room and he knew that her control on her magic was slipping away from her. She didn't believe him.

He didn't pull away even as he felt the air around her crackle and spark, striking his skin. He didn't drop her hand as her hair once again danced on an unseen wind and he didn't pull away when her eyes, seemingly devoid of any colour turned on him sharply. He was shocked to see that they were actually a pale silver, the light from the torches made them glint dangerously.

"You can look at my memories." His voice was desperate, even to his own ears and he didn't know where he'd gotten the idea from but now that he'd said it he didn't regret it.

He saw her falter, the room stilled, her eyes flashed back to black quickly and he saw the confusion there before he found himself pushed up against the nearest wall as she stalked over to him, eyes that almost imperceptible silver once more.

"You think I don't know that memories can be altered?" Her voice was lethal.

He didn't drop her gaze. Didn't back down from her glare.

"Use legilimency, I don't care. I just need you to believe me. I'd never throw away the chance you gave me like that. Katrina—"

"LEGILIMENS!"

It was more of a snarl than a word and Draco felt her rip into his thoughts painfully. He saw with her the way he looked for her in classes and at dinner and breakfast, saw the illuminating conversation with Blaise, saw his sleepless nights and poor appetite in the aftermath of her withdrawal but none of that seemed to matter to her. She was looking for something in particular. He saw himself wait for her to wake up, saw how small and broken she looked in the hospital bed, saw Blaise desperately trying to will her back to consciousness and he felt her falter. Felt for the first time as she watched the full memory before she was flitting through his mind again. It wasn't long before she came to that fateful day and he saw with her them in the prefects' bathroom, saw with her how good they were together. Then he saw for the first time the way her body language immediately changed when the small elf mentioned her mother. How she seemed to almost shake in fear. How she eventually steeled herself before finally rejecting him and leaving. He was immediately overcome by a deep feeling of regret. He'd jumped to conclusions, he had undone the tenuous relationship they'd only just built and the pain of seeing how he could have saved it crushed him. She was immediately overwhelmed by a strong sense of guilt and regret that she knew was not her own.

So he felt guilty about something. So what. He'd destroyed her. After she'd trusted him he'd immediately thrown it away. He deserved to feel some guilt.

Focusing once more on the task at hand she watched as Draco entered the common room after she'd fled the bathroom. He'd sat in the common room for a bit before storming to her door, finding it closed. After a few more minutes of stewing, his eyes snapping up every time someone entered the common room he'd retreated to his room, retrieving a bottle of firewhiskey. She watched as he got more and more drunk. Anger rolled off of her in waves when Pansy entered the room, and only intensified when the girl started to touch him.

He flinched at the white-hot feeling in his mind, he didn't know how she contained such fury on a day to day basis. He felt her begin to withdraw her anger getting the better of her.

_Please Katrina, stay._

He didn't know whether it was his words or her morbid curiosity to see what happened that made her stay but he was glad that she did.

When Pansy put the bottle of liquor back in his hand Draco was shocked. He didn't realize that had been a part of it and but for Katrina searching through his thoughts he probably never would have recalled the moment. He felt a surge of her anger again at the sight and a small inkling of hope flared in his chest. She continued to watch as Pansy plied him with drink until he was well and truly in a stupor before the filthy girl climbed into his lap and kissed him. She saw him withdraw, drunk as he was, saw his liquor addled arms try to push the scheming girl off of him before Parkinson grabbed his hands and shoved them under her skirt. No sooner had Parkinson rearranged his hands than had she seen herself stumble into the room.

She felt more than saw the hurt Draco felt manifest itself when she entered the room and he did what he did best. He lashed out.

She saw Pansy help Draco to bed where he immediately fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning to Pansy next to him she felt the absolute panic and disgust that coursed through him at the realization. Witnessed him kicking her out before he went off in search of her only to find out she'd wound up in the hospital wing.

She pulled out of his mind abruptly, stumbling back, eyes their normal shade of brown, her hair a frizzy mess.

Draco collapsed in a heap on the floor, the weight of her presence leaving his mind a welcome release.

She remained silent before him, her expression unreadable.

"How do you live with such fury inside of you?" He asked feebly as he pulled himself to his feet.

She looked at him then, and he could have sworn there was a look of tenderness there before she wiped her face with her hand.

"Practice."

He stepped towards her, close enough to touch her now if he really wanted to. "Katrina I never, ever meant to hurt you."

She nodded once, eyes averted and glassy.

He was emboldened by her response, stepping closer he cupped her cheeks, tilting her face to him.

"Look at me," he whispered, hoping that this meant there was something left to salvage between them.

Reluctantly her eyes found him and he was crushed by the pain he saw there. Closing his eyes he dipped his head and caught her lips in a sweet kiss, and just for a moment, he believed everything would be okay. They could work. She was a pureblood after all. Even if she had radical views about muggles he knew that his parents would come around. They could be together.

But then she was pulling back, distancing herself from him and his hands fell lamely to his sides.

"Draco I'm engaged."

He saw red, "That engagement is a sham Katrina and you know it. Why are you even with him, you hate him!"

He hadn't meant to yell at her, but his anger about Higgs got the better of him.

If he hadn't been listening for her response he would have missed it, her voice barely above a whisper, "It doesn't matter. I'd do anything to save him Draco, he's all I have left. He's all I've ever had."

Before he could stop her she'd unwarded the door and left, leaving him alone once again.

* * *

The next few days saw Katrina and Blaise slowly rebuilding their relationship, Blaise flourishing in his sister's acceptance.

Draco could still remember Blaise's words when his twin had walked up to him and hugged him after their tumultuous chat, whispering something in his ear before she left the common room again.

"I don't know what you said to her Malfoy, but thank you." The dark skin boy had said before he retired to his own room, leaving Draco alone with his thoughts.

He'd sat there for hours, just thinking about the best way to approach Katrina when the object of his thoughts came strolling through the doors just before midnight. Her hair was in two thick braids, the straight ends tickling just behind her knees and Draco couldn't help but smile at the memory they evoked. They'd been so very close to building their relationship until it all came tumbling down when her mother had summoned her.

"You don't have to marry Higgs, Katrina."

The only sign that she'd given that she had heard him was a pause, her foot on the first step of the staircase to her room. And then she was gone without so much as a backwards glance.

Looking at her now he was suddenly struck by what it was that had been so different about her all those nights ago. She was so thin.

It had been just over a month since she'd awoken. Since Higgs had barged into their lives, and Katrina seemed to have lost a considerable amount of weight. Her high cheekbones more prominent, uniform ever so slightly ill-fitting. That would have been fine, all of it would have been if he didn't suddenly have the sickening feeling that it had been at the mandate of Higgs. Rage bubbled up in his chest before completely consuming him. That fucking idiot was ruining her. He wondered if Blaise knew the extent of Higgs' influence. Looking at the male twin he knew that the other boy must have, he was watching her so sadly, holding her seemingly frail hand in one of his as though he thought she might break.

They were talking in angry whispers when Draco heard the most heartbreaking thing.

"Katrina please eat something, I can't stand to see you waste away in front of me. You're such a beautiful girl, please don't do this." It was a plea from her older brother, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

"I am simply doing what I have to do Blaise, do not take this so personally."

"Don't take it personally?!" His hushed voice was incredulous, rising ever so slightly.

Katrina's eyes shifted around the table at the few observers his outburst had garnered clearing her throat and staring pointedly at her brother.

Looking around himself he cleared his throat and Draco almost missed what the two had said afterwards.

"Katrina, of course, I'm taking this personally, the only reason you're doing this is that you're trying to protect me! I'm your older brother I can protect myself!"

"You're all of two minutes older than me Blaise, I hardly think that makes you the big brother you've painted yourself out to be."

Blaise looked as though he'd been struck, pain evident on his face at her remark.

"Be that as it may," he continued "I am perfectly capable of standing up to mother. I can-"

She scoffed at his words, levelling him with an icy glare. "You can't prank and hex your way out of this one Blaise. Face it, mother wouldn't want to sell off her eligible little bachelor, but the rude little upstart that threatens the hold she has on her precious baby boy, selling her off would be easy."

Draco's heart raced at her words. He could save her if he wanted to. Her words from many weeks previous about her mother played in his head. All the elder woman cared about was power and the Malfoys were easily the most powerful pureblood family in England.

Scarfing down the last of his toast he pulled a piece of parchment and quill from his bag, penning a quick note to his father. It would take some convincing but Draco was sure that he could save her. He would marry her instead.

* * *

Lunchtime rolled around and Draco got the response he'd been anxiously waiting for from his father.

_Draco,_

_I will meet you in your godfather's office at 7 o'clock this evening._

_Lucius_

He smiled to himself. It was more than he could have hoped for. He'd expected any number of things but for his father to actually agree to meet him, and so soon gave him hope that it would all work out. He scanned the table and quickly found Blaise chatting sedately with Nott. Katrina was nowhere to be found. He frowned. She was probably skipping lunch.

Draco was glad that he'd be speaking to his father that evening. He could save her.

* * *

Draco had been pacing anxiously outside of his godfather's office for the past 20 minutes. He could easily knock and enter the imposing man's chambers but he knew his incessant pacing would only raise the ire of the older man.

The door before him opened without ceremony and Draco looked up to see his godfather considering him.

"Did you intend to wear a hole into my floor Draco or were you going to knock eventually?"

Draco finally stopped his pacing. Severus stepped back from the door, beckoning the young blond inside.

"What pray tell, has your father demanding an audience with you in my office at this hour?"

Draco slouched into one of the open chairs before Snape's desk. Even though he knew it was the right thing to do, his best bet to get Katrina, to save her from a future with Higgs he was nervous to face his father.

He knew that the older Malfoy had given him virtually anything he could have wanted thus far in his schooling but this was different.

Draco heaved a sigh, fighting himself in his seat, about to launch into the basics of the matter at hand when the fireplace roared to life and Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the green flames.

Draco leapt to his feet, bowing his head in the elder blond's direction. "Father."

Lucius swept into the room, walking cane held firmly in his left hand.

"Draco, what is the meaning of this?"

His father's practised drawl did little to hide his displeasure at having been summoned by him. He watched as his father withdrew the piece of parchment he'd hurriedly scribbled on that very morning and dropped it on Severus' desk.

"Severus, I had hoped that your guidance would have prevented such distasteful displays of entitlement but it appears that I had been mistaken."

Draco swallowed hard as his godfather quickly read the note he had penned, his black eyes snapping from the parchment to his no doubt extremely pale face.

"F-father I—"

"You what boy?" His father sneered, "You think that I will bend to the whim of your boyish fantasies?"

"Father, if you would let me explain—"

"You have been betrothed Draco, and you will saddle up and marry the Parkinson girl. You can sleep your way through Hogwarts, you can sleep your way through Great Britain for all I care. But you _will_ marry the Parkinson girl."

"SHE'S AN ELEMENTAL!" Draco screamed.

Lucius had fallen silent, his face a picture of pure rage.

Severus stepped between the two blond men, his eyes looking sharply at his godson.

"Draco—"

He ignored the imploring tone of his godfather to fix his father with a serious look.

"Katrina Zabini is an elemental and I had thought you'd want the most powerful witch to be your eventual _daughter._ But if you're content to have _Parkinson_ , then so be it."

Draco missed the disappointed look that his godfathered levelled at him. Missed the barely there shake of the dark man's head. He would do whatever it took to get her. He'd do whatever it took to save her.

"You had better not be lying to me boy. I would only be too happy to remind you precisely what happens when you question me."

Draco stood his ground. He knew he was right about Katrina, and knew that once his father knew for certain as well that Katrina would be his.

"Bring her to me Draco, we will see if your insolence will be rewarded."

Draco hurried out of the professor's office and into the common room, eyes immediately coming to settle on the dark girl reading in front of the fire. He thanked Merlin that she was there as opposed to the Astronomy tower.

He knelt before her, clearing his throat to get her attention.

She looked up slowly and he was struck again by how beautiful she was. For the first time in a long time, she was without makeup and her hair was in all of its curly glory, styled much as it had been on the day that he'd won the Quidditch game for her. His heart sped up, he was so close to finally claiming her, so close to everything going back to how it had been before their parents had meddled; before she'd gotten hurt. Before he'd hurt her.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, "Professor Snape wants to see you in his office," he said.

She stood quickly, saving her place in her book with a simple spell, before stuffing the book into her small backpack. He smiled to himself when he noticed the cover of the book. _The Taming of the Shrew._

He was surprised that she didn't question why he was accompanying her but delighted in her quiet company. It had been some time since he had been able to just be around her and her simple presence felt like a balm on his soul.

She knocked at the professor's door, entering quietly when she heard his deep drawl granting them entrance. He knew the moment that she realized that his father was there. Her back had gotten impossibly straight as if pulled upward by an invisible string, she smoothed her hair back and gave a small curtsy.

"Good evening professor, Lord Malfoy. I hadn't meant to interrupt but Draco has informed me that you requested my presence professor."

For his part, Severus held his composure, his quick glance to the blond at her side the only outward sign that her statement wasn't exactly accurate. Lucius, on the other hand, was only too happy to correct her ignorance.

"Young Miss Zabini it was, in fact, I, who requested your presence," the blond man drawled, rounding the table to stand directly before her, peering intently into her face. He did nothing to hide the contemptuous scowl that marred his face.

His eyes were intensely trained on hers when he addressed his son.

"She is absolutely unremarkable Draco, what gave you the impression that this slip of a girl was an elemental is beyond me."

Draco saw her stiffen even more, saw her hands ball into fists at her side. Felt the telltale crackle of her energy in the air around them.

Lucius was pleasantly surprised when the dark eyes that stared unflinchingly back at him flickered to a very pale silver and her curly hair came to life with wild energy. Apparently, his son wasn't as foolish as he'd initially thought.

Lucius raised his free hand to her face, pale hands gripping her chin. If her skin was burning his he showed no indication.

"Show me, witch, are you worthy of my son?"

A loud crack was heard in the room and Draco flinched away when he saw a blinding white whip lash out mere inches from his feet. His eyes snapped back to her in panic. He'd never seen her so out of control, never seen her anger manifest itself so tangibly.

"Katrina—" her name was a plea, a prayer. Draco stumbled away from her when her seemingly blank eyes snapped to him, teeth bared.

Lucius smiled wickedly at the girl before him. What an interesting little witch his son had chosen. He wasn't convinced that the girl was an elemental but he could feel her magic pulsing in the room. No, while he wasn't convinced that she was an elemental he did know that she was powerful. And this type of power he would not willingly give up to some other family. Only the best for his son after all.

Lucius released her and reclaimed his place by the potions master, watching the scene before them play out. His son had seemed to regain his composure and had approached the girl, taking her hand in his.

"Katrina I—"

The girl wrenched her hand from his sons, closing her eyes and taking a firm step back. He felt more than saw her energy calm, felt her regain her composure. She ignored his son, instead, looking Lucius dead in the eye.

"If it was okay with you, Lord Malfoy, I would like to request to return to my dorms to prepare for tomorrow's classes."

Lucius smirked. The girl was nothing if not well mannered. He knew she was beyond livid, had _felt_ that anger in the air, had practically tasted it, but here she was, the image of pureblood manners and class asking permission of the very man that had disrespected her.

He inclined his head slightly, "You may, Miss Zabini."

She curtsied again, "Thank you, Lord Malfoy, professor. I bid you both a good night."

When she had left the room and the door closed quietly behind her Lucius had addressed his son. "It would appear, my boy, that all is not lost on you. I will straighten things out with the families. It is my understanding that the Zabini girl is engaged to the Higgs whelp."

Draco nodded, eyes still fixed on the spot Katrina had just vacated.

Lucius continued, not a second thought given to his son's inner turmoil. "Well it won't do for the Higgs' to own such power, those filthy muggle lovers wouldn't know how to utilize such a weapon."

Draco's eyes snapped to his father's, realisation dawning. He'd just sold her. He hadn't intended to, had only wanted to save her from Higgs' abuse but he'd gone and sold her to his family, his father was now under the impression that Draco would own her, own her power. Dread settled heavy in Draco's stomach.

Lucius exchanged pleasantries with Severus before he left the room and Draco felt all of his energy leave him.

"Draco, what have you done?"

He'd never heard his godfather sound so disappointed, had never heard such emotion colour his usually condescending voice.

"I don't know."


	11. I Burn, I Pine, I Perish

**A/N: Hellllllloooooo :) I swear i havent forgotten this story. I'm just bad at scheduling and juggling other commitments. Thats enough about me though. So about this story. I reread this chapter(formerly titled aftermath) and gagged. It was terrible. So i edited it. The plot makes more sense again. Sorry for my midnight ramblings that I end up killing off.**

* * *

She needed to get out of there, needed to escape the room of men who sought to control her, who sought to own her. Draco. Images of the younger blond came unbidden to her mind and she felt her anger rising once more. Taking a shuddering breath she braced herself against, the wall. She had noticed that since her brief dalliance with Malfoy had started she had had less and less control over her emotions. She frowned at the thought. She'd gone years without an outburst and now it seemed like one was always imminent, her emotions always just below the surface.

She thought back to the conversation she'd had with Severus just that afternoon.

_When she and Weasley had entered the room Snape had immediately set Weasley the task of scrubbing the dirty cauldrons, while he had pulled Katrina aside to give her what appeared to be a grave lecture, if Weasley's awful tomato red flush was anything to go by. She had been thoroughly shocked when the professor had invited her into his office, closing the door and ordering them tea._

_"Miss Zabini, it is most unusual for you to be so predisposed during my lecturers. I dare say that I am hurt."_

_She had looked thoroughly floored and Severus hid his smirk behind the cup that he brought quickly to his lips._

_She couldn't fathom hurting the surly man, far less the man himself admitting it to her. She sat there, mouth agape, floundering for something to say when she saw the mischievous glint in his eye as he barely concealed his smirk behind his teacup._

_Severus Snape was fucking with her._

_Snapping her mouth closed abruptly she cleared her throat, thinking of the best way to address the professor._

_"My apologies Professor Snape, it was not my intention to wound your mortal coil."_

_When she heard a loud snort of disbelief it was all she could do to contain her laughter._

_"Well Miss Zabini, to what might I attribute this smiting of my soul as it was?"_

_He had returned his teacup to the table, fingers steepled together and Katrina was struck with how much of a muggle villain he appeared to be. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. She burst out laughing, head_ thrown _back, hands clutching her sides and water trickling from her eyes. It was just so preposterous._

_"Oh professor," she said as her laughter subsided, "didn't you hear? I am to be wed to my abusive ex."_

_He watched her carefully, the goofy smile that she plastered on her face mocking the seriousness of her words._

_"Is that why you've had such a hard time controlling your anger?"_

_It was the way that he said it that wiped all traces of humour from her face. She immediately straightened in her seat, hands folding in her lap, eyes trained on the older man's face._

_"I'm sure that I don't know what you mean."_

_"I have not the time for games Miss Zabini. My offer of help, much like my patience is finite."_

_She considered him for a moment. It was obvious that any offer of his involved some type of potion. It wasn't his skill or knowledge that she questioned but the man himself. She didn't know if she could trust him._

_As she considered his words Severus watched her, waiting to decipher the slightest changes in body language, but none came._

_"And what help might that be, professor?"_

_"Daft does not suit you Ms Zabini."_

_Snape ploughed on. "It would mean, Miss Zabini, that your abilities beyond the purely pedestrian will be dampened. You won't have access to it. Not unless you stop taking the potion."_

_She weighed her options. Control or power. The known or the unknown._

_"Can I have some time to consider it Professor?"_

_Snape watched the young girl before him. For a witch so young she showed incredible restraint. Admirable really._

_He nodded curtly, showing his acquiescence and effectively dismissing the conversation, before sweeping from the room_.

* * *

She wandered through the darkened halls lost in thought, her feet taking her on an all too familiar path. The astronomy tower. She smiled to herself, conjuring a blanket.

"Mipsy."

She was pleasantly surprised when a moment later the small elf materialized before her. The tiny thing threw herself into her arms, her bony frame wracked with tears.

"Miss Trina, Mipsy is so glad, Miss Trina is okay."

Katrina smiled at the little old elf, resting a gentle hand on the small creature's back. The old elf was the only living creature she'd ever allowed to call her that awful name.

"Of course I'm okay Mipsy, why ever wouldn't I be?"

The old elf pulled away to fix the girl with a stern glare.

"Mipsy, is knows that Miss Trina hasn't beens eating. Mipsy is knows that Miss Trina isn't call for elves. Mipsy is knows that Missus Bini is hurts Miss Trina," the elf stated matter of factly.

Katrina lowered her eyes, unable to meet the concerned gaze of the old elf. When she felt her little hands smoothing down her hair it was all Katrina could do to keep the tears at bay.

Mipsy's voice was lower now, all chastising gone, "Mipsy is sorry that Miss Trina is hurting."

Katrina sniffled, scrubbing her hand over her face before dragging the frail-looking elf into a tight hug.

"Thank you Mipsy."

The old elf nodded, patting the girl on the head. Mipsy could still remember the quiet little girl that came to the castle all of those years ago, always in search of treats and always so kind to her and the other elves.

"Mipsy is go get Miss Trina's favourites."

Without further ado, the elf disapparated away, the crack of her magic breaking the quiet. It was barely a minute later when she reappeared, laden with all manner of treats.

"Eat!" was all the old elf said before finally disappearing for good, a broad smile on her wrinkled face.

Katrina couldn't help the incredulous little giggle that bubbled up from her throat. Mothered by an elf she had essentially adopted. How odd.

She ate quietly. Savouring her food for the first time in a long time. Her mind was brought back to her most recent problem. Draco Malfoy. Her anger bubbled to the surface at the mere thought of the underhanded blond. She could feel the telltale pinpricks on her skin that marked a magical outburst. She took a deep breath, trying to put a lid on her mounting anger. If she had any chance of surviving without Snape's help she'd need to be able to find some measure of control.

But just who did he think he was? Offering her up to his father like she was cattle. Like she was a piece of property that he could just lay claim to. He'd lied and schemed and there had never been anything that she could do to escape the situation. Shuttled off from one man to another.

When Lucius Malfoy had demanded that she prove herself worthy of Draco she had wanted to remain calm, had wanted to keep at bay the phenomenal anger that often led to her magic flaring wildly but she couldn't. She couldn't not be furious at the nerve of that arse. Of course, Lucius had provoked her, his intentions, for the most part, were clear. Ownership and power. That is what the older blond thrived on. Wizarding Britain had long since been in his pocket and they knew it. They all also knew that he was a collector of people, so it came as no surprise to Katrina that once the man was made aware of her he would try to own that part of her in some way.

But Draco. He-. Her anger flared immediately at the thought of him. He'd gone behind her back, hadn't given an iota of care to her wants, her desires. Just his. And now he owned her. The lid on her control was blasted to shit. Fucking Draco Malfoy.

She was so consumed by her ire, so taken by her hatred of the stupid blond that she didn't notice as he slipped into the room. Her magic crackled dangerously along her skin and for the first time in a long time she just wanted to hurt something, wanted to bend her magic to her insurmountable will and break something. She steadied her breathing, feeling the raw energy course through her and she tried to recreate the whip that had lashed out at Malfoy. A fluke really.

She felt her magic tenuously take form, felt the way her anger fueled her desires and she gave into it. Then she felt it. Her eyes snapping open and then narrowing at the shadow by the door. Someone was there.

Before she could think better of it she flicked her magic in the person's direction, pleased to see the whip she'd manifested only once before licking the air around the concealed person before crashing into the floor.

Draco was shocked when he was once again at the receiving end of a whip of her magic. She was so enraptured in what she was doing when he had entered that he didn't think she'd notice him there, at least not for some time. But then she'd always noticed him when he followed her. Why would now be any different?

Stepping out of the shadows and into the room he watched her face closely. Hands raised in silent surrender.

"Katrina—"

His heart thudded quickly against his ribcage.

"How dare you?! You had no right!'

She took a steadying breath, screwing her eyes shut. She needed to be in control of herself. Needed to be in control of the situation.

"Did you ever stop to consider that maybe I'd want to love the man I married?"

His heart dropped, breath stolen.

She heaved a sigh, voice quiet.

"Did you think about how your actions would affect me?"

He fought down the panic that clawed its way up his throat. He'd done all of this to save her, to have her. He would not be losing her because of it.

He closed the distance between them, needing to be nearer to her.

"I did it to save you from Higgs Katrina. I'd do anything to save you from that monster."

Her eyes were still closed, "And what of my mother, Draco? Did you think that she'd be thrilled that the boy I'd been dating, the boy she'd known I had chosen over Higgs, destroyed her plans?"

His head spun at the implication. She'd chosen him over Higgs? Had fought her mother for him?

"She's going to be on the warpath Malfoy." He flinched at her use of his surname.

"She knew about you and me before either of the betrothals. She, for whatever reason, still chose a betrothal to Terence."

Her eyes were open now, and the pain he saw there left him breathless.

"You've ruined me."

* * *

He'd almost forgotten that the next day was a Hogsmeade weekend. He stared up at the green canopy, sun filtering through the light curtains, her words playing on a loop in his mind.

_You've ruined me._

He'd only ever wanted her. Higgs had destroyed her. Again. Yet.

_You've ruined me._

He rolled onto his stomach burying his face into the pillow. He didn't want to get out of bed. Didn't want to face her. A distinctive female giggle a few beds down caused him to groan, pulling another pillow over his head. Blast them to hell.

He didn't know which of the idiots had a girl over and didn't silence their bed and he didn't want to stick around to hear how enthusiastic they were to be together. Ugh.

He slammed his feet onto the floor so that the pair of idiots would know that he was still in the room. He retreated quickly to the bathroom when his ruckus was all but ignored, soft moans escaping the bed that he had now identified as Nott's. Miscreant.

After a quick shower, he headed down to the common room. Katrina was sat on the couch, hair slicked back before exploding into the frizziest, fluffiest ponytail he'd ever seen. Her face was wiped clean of any makeup and he was struck by how radiant she looked. Blaise was talking to her animatedly, hands gesticulating wildly. It would appear that the twins had fully reconciled. He was glad for that at least. When her eyes snapped up to his he was reminded of precisely why he was so drawn to her. She was beautiful. Her eyes were twinkling with some unknown emotion. She seemed so self-assured and then she took him in and it turned to ash. Her face dropped, shoulders stiffened and the happiness that seemed to swirl around her just moments before evaporated.

_You've ruined me._

Blaise's head swivelled around to meet him.

"Oi mate, I really ought to thank you for saving her."

"Katrina was just telling me that she may be getting out of her engagement to Higgs; said that you pulled in a favour with daddy."

Draco looked at her. She was staring into the fire, steadfastly ignoring them both.

"Yeah, something like that."

He just wanted her to look at him the way she had in the prefect's bathroom again. Just wanted another shot. I don't do second chances, people often are not worth it. His heart plummeted. There was no way she'd give him yet another chance. And now they were supposed to be married. Fuck.

"So all that's left then is for you two to get engaged, then break things off before the wedding planning gets too far," Blaise said happily, leaning back in his seat.

Draco looked at his friend, "Blaise, I can't."

The dark-skinned man looked at him sharply, nostrils flaring, anger evident in every inch of his countenance.

"Can't or won't?" Blaise asked tersely.

"Blaise stop." He hadn't expected her to come to his defence.

"Katrina he can't just - just swoop in and marry you! For fuck's sake have you forgotten about him and Parkinson?" Blaise all but screamed.

For the first time, Draco noticed the crackling energy in the air, much subtler this time than it usually was. Something about it seemed, different.

"You think I'd forget about that Blaise? It landed me in the hospital," she pulled down the neck of her sweater, exposing her shoulder which had a noticeable scar across it. Her voice was so sad as she finished, eyes finally leaving the jumping flames, "How could I forget?"

Seeing the scar only seemed to spike Blaise's anger and Draco found himself finally understanding what it was about Blaise that had kept so many of Katrina's suitors at bay. Simply put, Blaise was terrifying. The white of his eyes had bled to black and a vicious snarl twisted his mouth.

"So that's it then, you swoop in like some fucking hero to save her only to tie her to you?! You don't even respect her you—"

He cut himself off, eyes grudgingly moving upward to find his sister standing above him, her hand resting on his arm. Kneeling beside his chair, she brought them on level with each other.

"Blaise, in this game our mother is playing I'm just a pawn. I'm only valuable in that I can be sold. " She took a deep breath before she continued.

"She was going to marry me off to some pureblood wizard at some point. And I could do a lot worse than a man who finds it hard to be with one witch. I _did_ a lot worse."

Draco couldn't fight the way his heart clenched painfully at her words. She'd seen his thoughts, had seen him try to fight off Pansy but then he remembered that he'd kissed the brunette girl back. It had been brief, but it had happened, and she had gotten a first-hand view of the event from his thoughts.

He was going to be sick.

Blaise closed his eyes, his response quiet. "I know"

When the dark boy opened his eyes again they were back to their normal state, most traces of anger gone. The twin shared some unspoken message before Katrina stood, adjusted her sweater and left.

"I just wanted to save her mate." Draco hadn't intended for his voice to come out so soft.

"That's the problem. She's never needed a saviour."

* * *

When Draco and Blaise had finally made their way down to breakfast, it was to see Katrina sat squarely between Marge and Archie. The three quietly discussing something. Blaise sat beside Archie, throwing an arm around her and dropping a kiss on her temple.

"Hello, love."

"Katrina told me that it happened again," Archie said quietly, concern clear on her face.

Blaise cleared his throat, eyes averted. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize Blaise. It's just something we have to work at. It's just a part of you and I understand that. We'll keep trying."

The dark-skinned boy nodded, squeezing her shoulder gratefully.

Draco considered the dark skinned pair. They both had it, whatever _it_ was. Hm .

* * *

Hogsmeade was difficult. Blaise and Archie were the loving couple he'd never known them to be. The elder twin basking in the attention the short girl offered. While Katrina had stayed steadfastly by Marge's side, much to his dismay.

He trailed behind the group, hands in his pocket, head down. He'd fucked things royally and now he had no idea how to fix it. He didn't even have an idea of how to get her to look his way.

The clinking of a bell overhead alerted him to the fact that they'd wandered into a shop of some kind.

Taking in his surroundings he was unsurprised to see that they were in a bookstore. What did surprise him is that it wasn't Flourish and Blotts.

He almost jumped out of his skin when a voice beside him got his attention.

"You know Draco. Staring at the back of her head from the back of the group isn't going to win her back."

His gaze met the very smug face of one Marge.

He didn't know what to be more annoyed about; that he'd been found out to be moping or that Marge apparently knew how royally he'd fucked up.

"And what pray tell would have the effect of securing me the honour of her favour?"

He was being a pompous ass, he knew. But what else was he supposed to do when her friend had come to rub his failure in his face?

If his words or tone bothered her she didn't show it. Smiling at him serenely. She was tall, he noticed. He'd venture to say about the same height as Katrina. Odd how she seemed to almost shrink in the other girl's dominating presence.

"Well Draco, maybe you should try talking to her."

His blood boiled at the condescension.

"That easy huh? Talk to her?" He sneered.

"Yes."

She'd said it simply enough and now stood there staring him down. Daring him to challenge her.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration before swiping the other down his face.

"What the fuck am I supposed to say to her?"

"What did you say to her in the Prefect's Bathroom?"

His heart hammered wildly in his chest. How did she know?

Before he could get the question out she'd turned on her heel and left.

Well fuck.

Looking up he searched the store for the telltale frizz that would indicate Katrina's location and found himself out of luck. It would appear he'd have to comb through the stacks.

The store was considerably smaller than Flourish and Blotts and all of the books appeared yellowed with age. He couldn't recall a used bookstore before and filed the thought away for later. When he found her she was perched in a small window seat, a book hovering in front of her as her eyes quickly devoured its contents.

Taking in the aisle he found himself in threatened to steal his breath. Muggle classics. Of course.

She paid him no notice, her attention firmly on the book before her. Taking the opportunity before him, he scanned the shelves until he found it. Their book. The _Taming of the Shrew._

Grabbing the book he walked over to her. Mindful of his muffled footfalls.

"I love reading Shakespeare."

He watched as her spine stiffened when he spoke and the book she had been reading fell onto the empty space with a quiet plunk.

She didn't look at him. The only indication that she'd heard him her rigid posture and discarded book.

He continued before he could lose his nerve.

"When I was a boy mother would read it to me when father was not there. By the time I could read them unassisted I'd fallen in love with the tales he told."

Her eyes slid to his face, head turning ever so slightly. His heart rate doubled.

"What would make you think that I care?"

Her words were sharp and her eyes guarded. She'd give nothing away freely. Not anymore.

He didn't shrink under her gaze and didn't look away when he answered.

"You're still here."

The words hung heavy in the silence that stretched on between them.

It was she who looked away first, eyes flitting down to the book in his hands. His eyes followed hers and he smiled softly when he realized that she had noticed the book after all.

"It's our book." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, before he could properly process what he'd said.

It felt like an eternity before she looked at him again, the weight of the book seeming to grow exponentially. The smile slid off of his face at her carefully blank expression.

"Why are you here Malfoy?"

He wondered if she knew how her reducing him to his surname burned him. Twisted his insides until he was nothing more than a puddle of pain. Just another blond haired aristocrat.

_You've ruined me._

He cleared his throat, averting his gaze and shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the book weighing him down.

He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath before he looked at her again.

"I've missed you." His voice was soft, even to his own ears, and he was shocked to hear the desperation that bled into his tone.

When she didn't respond or move away he continued, "I am aware-, I never meant to-, I-".

A deep sigh followed by a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It was never my intention to hurt you, Katrina."

"You stole my choice away from me Malfoy, what did you think that would do exactly?"

She had a point. He hadn't thought beyond contacting his father, not really. He'd certainly known that once aware Lucius would do whatever it took to acquire her for the Malfoy family. And he'd known that would mean marriage. But foolishly, in his haste, he forgot a key ingredient. Katrina. Ironic really.

She'd completely turned to face him now, feet dangling over the edge of her seat in the window.

"So, what mandates do you have of me now that you own me husband?"

The word was like a slap to the face. _Husband_.

She hopped down the short distance from her perch to stand toe to toe with him.

"Shall I straighten my hair?" She punctuated her question with a sharp poke to his chest.

"Do you require me to wear makeup?" Another poke.

"Am I to be meek and grateful for your salvation?" A third stab with those fucking pointy nails of hers.

"Should I-"

She'd had no time to react before his lips were claiming hers, his book, their book thudding to the floor as he gripped her face and stepped impossibly closer.

His kiss was like drowning in honey, sweet and slow and decadent and her heart beat a furious tempo in her chest.

It felt like another eternity before he slowed the kiss to a stop and her disappointment was practically tangible.

"Just be you. It's all I've ever wanted. Just you." His words a breathless whisper against her lips.

She pulled away, putting some much needed distance between them. She couldn't think when he was kissing her like that, telling her that he wanted her. Only her. She needed to remain focused. Needed to think clearly. She couldn't afford to let her hopes get wrapped up in him again. Afterall, it had taken so little for him to cast her aside the first time. No. She needed to be much more careful with Draco Malfoy. She'd need to keep her wits about her if she had a hope of getting out of this new betrothal.

He saw the moment that she withdrew into herself again. The fire that lit her eyes as she castigated him was extinguished, the desire that fueled their kiss evaporated and in their place a seemingly infinite nothingness.

She didn't say a word as she walked by him, leaving him once again, and it was all he could do not to scream out of sheer frustration.

He folded himself into the seat she had vacated in the window, past daydreams of sitting behind her as she read rushed to the fore and he shook his head as if the action would clear his thoughts.

His heart stuttered to a stop when the flipped title of the book she had been reading caught his eye.

_The Taming of the Shrew._

He picked the book up, careful to keep the page she'd been so intently reading. As his eyes scanned the page the very quote she'd read from his copy of the book jumped out at him.

I burn, I pine, I perish.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Defence Against the Dark Arts rolled around dark and ominous. She'd skipped breakfast that morning in favour of getting to class early. She hadn't been able to get him out of her head. Not since he'd so thoroughly invaded her space.

_Just be you. It's all I've ever wanted. Just you._

She pinched the bridge of her nose. He had invaded her mind. Draco Malfoy was….sitting in the classroom before her.

Never once in the history of their schooling had she seen him in class so early. A rare few made it here this early and he had never been one of them.

When she finally collected her scattered wits she entered the classroom, mindful to put as much distance between them as possible.

She'd just settled into her spot, mind steadfastly away from the blond who lived to ruin her when Professor Snape blew into the room.

"How _convenient_ that you should both be here _alone_."

She didn't like the insinuation and bristled at the implication.

The dour man cleared his throat before continuing, "Lucius has _requested_ that I pair you both in my classes and as I have no desire to argue with the man I will be doing just that."

He let his words hang in the pervasive silence and Katrina refused to look any further than his well polished shoes.

"See to it, Miss Zabini, that I do not have to clean up tiny chunks of young Master Malfoy."

"Yes Professor."

She watched as he stood there for a moment longer before returning to his office.

Great.

* * *

When she entered the classroom for potions two periods later, she was annoyed to find that she'd been paired with Malfoy. Again.

Professor Snape had disguised his motives well enough as 'term assignments'; claiming it was to develop their lacking skills in group work and civility but one Pansy Parkinson would not be so easily placated.

The shorter girl had begun to throw a fit of apoplectic proportions when Katrina had assumed her _assigned_ seat beside Malfoy when Katrina had finally had enough.

"It would do you well, Parkinson, to develop some form of manners and decorum. Now that you have no betrothal to fall back on you'll have to _attempt_ to curry favour with someone. Afterall, who wants a bride with the temperament of a blast-ended skrewt with a face to match no less?"

Katrina stared down her nose as the other girl quickly gathered her things and made to leave, she never saw the way his eyes shone with renewed hope.

The remainder of the class had gone smoothly, much to her relief. She'd decided to put her anger aside momentarily, if only for the sake of her grades. She'd found Malfoy to be pleasant once the initial awkwardness had worn off and at one point had caught herself having a private smile about something he'd said at Weasley's expense.

* * *

By the time dinner had rolled around she'd been in a fantastic mood. Their potion had been perfect, Snape's attention had zeroed in on the Gryffindors again and working with Malfoy hadn't felt like an exercise in restraint.

She'd just finished filling in Archie and Marge on her day when her potions partner sauntered into the room. She fought the smile that threatened to tilt her lips and instead focused doubly on loading her plate with mashed potatoes.

When she heard Marge invite him over her heart dropped and she froze in her seat. What was she _doing_?!

"Sit with us Malfoy."

She didn't see him roll his eyes as he walked over, didn't see the way he considered which seat to take and she didn't see Marge nudging him to sit beside her. What she did see, was a lithe figure slide into the now vacant seat beside her and what she heard was Marge prompting her to tell _Draco_ about her day. About what put her in such a good mood.

She didn't announce her exit. Didn't make eye contact with any of them. She simply collected her things and left.

Archie's stern voice was easy to hear above the light din in the dining hall as she beat her retreat, "You really shouldn't meddle Marge."

Marge's scoff in response followed her out the door.

Her food was still untouched on the table.

* * *

He was lounging in the common room long after dinner had finished. He'd hoped to see her again, to talk to her, but realised there was a chance that she'd simply gone to bed already.

He hadn't realised he was dozing until he felt weight dip the seat beside him. He opened his eyes slowly and was greeted by the sight of a very agitated Pansy.

"Why did you let her speak to me that way?" Her voice was beseeching and he felt a pang of guilt for the way he'd been treating her recently. There was no denying that she was manipulative but he had to admit that he'd been harsh.

"I didn't let her do anything Pansy. You spoke and she responded."

He eyed her wearily. He didn't know what she was up to and he wasn't apt to lose any good favour he'd gotten with Katrina. Fleeting as it was. A repeat of any incident where the two women were concerned was not something he wished to experience.

"One day we're engaged and the next you're being married off to that slag, you're paired with her in classes and I don't understand!"

He could feel himself become exasperated. Was it really necessary for her to whine?

"Pansy, my father decided to change the betrothals. I'm no more in control than you."

He watched as her face became red and mottled. She was clearly fighting herself on what to say and he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear it. Whatever it was.

Pansy had other plans.

"Is that it then? She slept with Lucius so now she can have you?"

He was completely floored. The nerve of this girl. How could she continuously spew such hatred? How could she? He was about to give her a tongue lashing when he remembered. Pansy had always been this way. This audacious. Initially, it was what attracted him to her.

He just couldn't stand it now that it was directed at Katrina. He huffed a sigh, leaning his head back against the arm rest.

"Pansy, you know as well as I do that Katrina did not sleep with Lucius."

She didn't argue and he continued, shifting his position to consider her once more.

"Things between you and I were never meant to get serious Pansy. I never thought my father would go through with the betrothal. It was a promise I made you when we were six!"

He sighed again at the hurt written all over her face. This he supposed was necessary, he needed a proper break from Pansy. Even if Katrina and he stayed embroiled in animosity he needed a clean break from the girl.

"I never meant to hurt you Pansy, and I'm sorry that I did."

The two stayed there in silence for a bit before it was punctuated by a small sniffle.

"But I love you Draco."

His heart stuttered and he thought he was going to be sick. _Husband._

"Pans, I don't feel the same."

"But you feel this for Zabini?"

He could hear the incredulity in her voice, the barely withheld sneer and he felt worse.

"No. Not yet. But I think that maybe I could."

She didn't wait again for another response from him, she didn't sniffle again.

* * *

The next day saw Pansy giving Katrina a wide berth. It was as though the other girl was being repelled away. While she wasn't complaining it did strike her as odd how the other girl seemed to be watching and avoiding her.

Katrina noticed Pansy giving both her and Malfoy a wide berth the next day. She kept casting furtive glances her way and it made Katrina uneasy .

When she met up with Marge and Archie during their shared free period she asked the two if they'd heard anything that would explain why the other girl had been acting so strange. The two had told her no and dismissed her concerns. Telling her that she was overthinking it.

It was during their her third period, Potions again, that Katrina finally confronted Draco after having the brunette girl's eyes bore holes in her head all morning.

"Why, pray tell, has your girlfriend been staring at me?"

She knew that the title was a low blow, given that she knew about some of the pairs previous interactions, their fight about the betrothal that she'd walked in on coming to the fore. But the image of him and Pansy in bed together was not something she'd soon forget. Innocent or not.

She kept her eyes focused on the work in front of her. If she was paying attention to what she was doing she could remain calm and remain objective; she hoped.

In her periphery she saw his head turn ever so slightly in Pansy's direction and for some foolish reason she felt hurt that the dumb girl would be the first one he'd think of when the monicker was used. She frowned. It didn't matter. He could do as he pleased.

She felt when his eyes snapped back to her. Felt the weight of his gaze settle squarely on her for what felt like an eternity before he deigned it appropriate to answer.

"I told her how I feel about you."

Her heart stuttered in its beating before doubling in pace. What the fuck was he playing at?

His voice sounded small, cautious. Like the very words he'd spoken had the power to tear down the world around them.

She watched him covertly from the halo of curls that surrounded her face. Watched as he watched her, waiting for an answer that would never come, a question that would never be asked.

She needed some distance from Draco Malfoy.

* * *

When lunch finally rolled around Katrina practically bolted from her seat, trying her best to get lost in the throng of students exiting classrooms.

Being paired with Malfoy was going to be a problem. She could tell. She would not delude herself into thinking that recent events had stripped her of her attraction to him but they had highlighted that he probably wasn't a man that she'd want to be tied to. Definitely not for her life. Definitely not on her magic.

He was manipulative, underhanded and selfish. The sting of her new betrothal was still fresh and she wasn't quite willing to let go of the anger it inspired. As long as she held control of her magic, her anger would be useful. It would help her to keep him at arms length.

As long as she could maintain her anger she could avoid giving in to him. She could work out a way to escape this betrothal.

She looked up from her meal, eyes drawn to the door, and meeting a pair of stormy grey. Her heart stuttered again before dread settled like a tonne of lead in her stomach. When had she developed feelings for Malfoy? When had her passing attraction to him morphed into _feelings._

She drew in a shaky breath, eyes still locked on his. When had this gotten so serious?

He stood like a sentry in the doorway. Students brushing past him this way and that. Yet still he watched her. Unmoving, unflinching.

Something seemed different about him. His face wore a cool look of indifference, hands shoved into his pockets when she heard his voice from earlier float into her thoughts.

_I told her how I feel about you._

He'd come across as cautious, even somewhat timid. But watching him now she began to feel as if it was something else. Then the thought struck her. He seemed resigned. Resigned to a life with her.

She shook off the hurt feeling that threatened to consumer her at the thought before finally looking away from him. Good. If he felt so poorly about having feelings for her this would be easier. He'd be more amenable to releasing them both from this mess they'd found themselves in. That he'd gotten them into.

Of their own accord her eyes snapped back up to the doorway to find him gone. She scanned the table discreetly, absently wondering where he'd gone. When she came up empty she returned to picking at her food. So he'd come to the hall, seen her and left? She frowned. Maybe staying away from him would be easier than she thought.

She was broken from her thoughts by Marge.

"I don't know why you idiots are punishing each other."

Katrina's fork clattered to the table. _What?!_

"You don't know what you're talking about Margaret." She hoped the other girl understood the warning for what it was and took it. She was in no mood to discuss Draco Malfoy.

The other girl's voice dropped in volume and she shifted closer. "You have feelings for him and refuse to go to him. He has feelings for you and just watches you and mopes. I'd argue that I know _exactly_ what I'm talking about _Katarina._ "

She clenched her jaw to hold back the retaliation that bubbled up her throat.

"Marge."

"Katrina."

"It's not that simple."

"So says you."

Katrina huffed in exaggeration. Sometimes she wondered why the two of them were even friends. The other girl was consistently under her skin when they disagreed, which was often enough.

"He broke the promise that he made to me. _After_ I'd given him a second chance. People are barely worth seconds. If you think there'll be a third I have some grave news for you."

Her voice came out as a deadly hiss and Marge rolled her eyes. Katrina could be so _dramatique_.

"So he kissed Parkinson for all of two seconds when he was well and truly sloshed, so what?"

"So we're done."

"Au contraire. Seems like you're very much together. Some might even say _engaged."_

Katrina clenched her jaw. She didn't need a reminder.

Marge bumped her with her shoulder to get her attention again.

"You should give him a proper chance."

"I did."

"Did you?"

There was a long pause before Katrina grabbed her book bag and left. She had nothing more to say.

* * *

Her trek to the astronomy tower was a distracted one. She turned Marge's question over in her mind the entire way.

She had given him a proper chance and he'd thrown it in her face at the first sign of trouble. Then she remembered the almost frantic way he'd looked for her when he'd come back to the commons. Remembered the way she'd pushed him away when news of her mother arrived. Remembered him inebriated and trying to fight off Parkinson.

Maybe Margaret was more right than she'd initially thought.

Her feet on autopilot, she wandered into the familiar room without so much as registering that another person was there. Not until her foot caught on a lump on the floor and she was hurtling face first towards the stone below.

Panic gripped her as she realised belatedly that she hadn't the time to grab her wand. The moment slowed and she was falling again, but from a much higher height. A loud crash, splintering in her hands and falling, falling, falling ever downwards

"Katrina!"

Her eyes tried to focus on the face looming over hers. But that wasn't right. She was falling face first why could she see a face. Unless she was still falling, unless this person was what she'd tripped over.

"Katrina."

Finally her eyes complied and Draco Malfoy came into focus, concern etched into his face.

He moved away from her a bit once she seemed to be cognizant the concern he'd displayed slowly melting away.

"You were screaming."

He said it like it was a plausible explanation for why she was in one moment falling and then in the other face to face with him.

Her brow scrunched in confusion. What was he talking about? It wasn't like she knew he was in here so why would she just suddenly start screaming at him.

Then it hit her and the weight of what had happened stole her breath. She'd relived the night of her accident. Her tripping had managed to trigger the memory and fear had gripped her and she was falling again and there was nothing she could do and-

"Katrina."

This time her name came with a gentle touch. Innocent enough, his hand holding hers.

She pulled her hand away quickly and the hurt that crossed his features was gone in the blink of an eye:

He cleared his throat, straightening himself to his full height and turning away from her.

"I hadn't meant for you to trip over my bookbag."

She stared at him openly. Entirely confused by what had just happened.

"I'd hoped you would have found me, and now that you have I have no idea what to say."

She hadn't been looking for him. Not really. He'd certainly preoccupied her thoughts on her way here but she hadn't been seeking him out. She wanted to see if her usual dance with her fear could still calm the storm that raged within her.

Here eyes travelled to the bookbag beside her. Evidently that was not advisable.

She felt his eyes on her and was unsurprised to find him considering her. She cleared her throat and repositioned herself on the floor. While it was unacceptable to have him in such a position above her nothing could be done about it. She still didn't trust her feet.

"And why's that Malfoy?"

He didn't say anything for quite some time, simply watching her with his hands shoved into his pockets and a frown on his face.

She didn't know what to make of him anymore. On the one hand he'd insinuated that he had feelings for her. Feelings strong enough to warn off Pansy even though all that currently tied **them** together was the consequence of his rash decision to run to his daddy.

On the other, it had become apparent that he was distancing himself. Probably from her. Maybe from the whole charade of a betrothal. Either way there was now a thin layer of frost that punctuated their interactions.

Why would he want her to find him?

He shuffled from foot to foot for a short while, one of the few things that spoke to his discomfort before he produced something from his pocket.

She couldn't see what it was as it was balled in his fist.

He took a deep breath before he launched into a speech she was sure he'd spent some time thinking about.

"I'm at a loss for how to do this. How to handle this. How to be with you."

She didn't say a peep didn't move an inch didn't so much as release a breath. _Be with her?_

"It's clear that you want nothing to do with me and believe me, I don't blame you.

"But I want you Katrina. Every single part of me wants you. I want to prove to you that I can be the guy you need me to be. I need to."

She couldn't look at him anymore. Not now that he had started down this road.

She heard him release a shaky sigh followed by a sarcastic little laugh.

"But I don't want to tie you to me forever with no way out. I don't want to rob you of more choices that should be your own. I don't want to own you.

"So if you want nothing more to do with me, if you can see nothing in me worth a third look I'll find a way to get you out of this sham of a betrothal."

When he knelt beside her she jumped in surprise, eyes meeting his for the first time since he started his diatribe.

"But, if there's even a sliver of hope that you'll take another chance on me I'll take it and run with it. I'll prove to you that I'm the man you want me to be. I-"

"I had only ever wanted you to be yourself and to respect my boundaries. There's never been an attempt to make you into someone else."

His eyes were as stormy as they'd ever been. The shades of grey glinted in the dim light of the astronomy tower.

He seemed to be considering what she'd said and she wondered what he could be thinking. What he made of all of this.

She was drawn from her musings when he placed a small, black, velvet box beside her hand. He didn't say anything before he left, he didn't have to.

She didn't know if she could open it.


End file.
